Summer School
by Tsubame Ongaku
Summary: Sasuke could have any girl he wants. Sakura a cute new girl in school was his latest target. She was cute, smart and nice to put it simply, “perfect.” but why does she have to be his teacher's favorite? ...and smart enough to be a detective...
1. Chapter 1

**Tsubame:** Hey there!

I've not written a SakuSas fic in a while…a very long while…

I decided to write another SakuSas fic but it is…well…AU. It just depresses me that Sasuke had left Konoha. 

This is dedicated to my "The Beauty of the Cherry blossoms" readers. It is the fic, which is still waiting to be updated. A little favor please! Can somebody email me the Chapter 10 of the fic so I can continue it before I completely forget the plot?

Thank you! Appreciate it!

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"**Summer School"**

**by Tsubame Ongaku**

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**Summary**: Sasuke could have any girl he wants. For him, like canned goods every girl has an expiration date. They never go beyond a week. Sakura a cute new girl in school was his latest conquest. She was nice, funny, smart and beautiful in other words "perfect." Sasuke needs to get out of this relationship before his heart gets into trouble. Unfortunately, he was not expecting her to be under his math teacher's wing.

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**Chapter 1: Uchiha Sasuke**

What can interest somebody who literally has everything?

This is a question asked by practically everyone in Konoha High.

Uchiha Sasuke, the star of the Konoha soccer team and Konoha High Ninjas MVP, he had everything. A rich family, popularity, good looks…and girls galore…he has a new girlfriend every week. A week seems to be his limit when it comes to girls…

"Don't you think this is divine, Sasuke-kun!" she squealed in an annoying girlish delight.

Sasuke yawned. "As long as it doesn't cost more than a thousand, then sure it's divine."

She pouted prettily. "Sasuke-kun, you're no help…"

The girl was slightly annoyed. Why couldn't Uchiha Sasuke be a little more enthusiastic? I mean he is soooo…hot but why can't he behave more like a boyfriend? He did make a good credit card though.

This was the kind of guy he was. Every one of his relationships calculated from time to expenses and techniques for the correct break-up technique was already thought of.

The girl went off to the nearest dressing room to try out the floral-print dress. The latest fashion and a must have of the season…

She planned to make him wait. He wouldn't dare break-up with her. She was the most popular girl in school and the greatest catch of the year. Why would he be crazy enough to break up with her?

She didn't know that Sasuke could dare anything he pleases. She was another one of those useless distractions to him and too bad for her if she didn't know that. She was just another one of those pretty faces he sees almost everyday, whether he wanted to see them or not…

Hey, they come to him…not the other way around.

He yawned again. He was already starting to lose interest with this blonde airhead. What was her name again? He already forgot.

Ten minutes later, his date didn't return yet. He had the greatest urge to drag her out of that dressing room. Sasuke was not known to be patient for long.

In the corner of his eye, he saw somebody walk by. He was sure that it was the same floral-print his date wanted to try on. She was by the hat corner and trying on a wide sun hat that covered his view of her face.

This annoyed him. She left him waiting for her for ten minutes and she's trying on hats…

Angrily, he stalked towards her, grabbed her arm and pulled her hard to face him. "That's it! We're breaking up!"

Instead of his date's sultry blue eyes, he was suddenly staring into a pair of lovely, unfamiliar green eyes.

"Breaking up? Who in the world are you?" the girl demanded.

Sasuke froze in surprise, then his surprise turned to embarrassment making him blush violently, then his embarrassment turned to anger.

She made him blush! Nobody makes Uchiha Sasuke blush!

"I…I'm sorry," he apologized. "I thought you were someone else." Then pushing her roughly away.

She rubbed the spot on her arm where he grabbed her. It stung…this made her frown. Who did this guy think he is? "Was that what you call an apology? It's pathetic."

"Listen, girly. I said I'm sorry…what more do you want?"

"My name is Haruno Sakura not girly or is your memory as pathetic as your apology?"

Sasuke was seeing red. This small girl was mocking him. He couldn't believe it. This was a first.

They stared each other down for what seemed like a minute, then Sakura sighed surrendering and then smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It was wrong of me to say those things. You did apologize."

"Your right, I did!" Sasuke grumbled.

"I'll forgive you for grabbing me earlier, if you forgive me for my outbursts," she extended her hand to him for a handshake. "Deal?"

He nodded and took the hand she offered but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. "Deal."

She blushed. That was unexpected…

"Uchiha Sasuke! I leave you for a minute and where do I find you? Flirting with other girls!"

Sasuke turned to find his enraged date glaring at him and the Sakura and then back to him. She was carrying not just one bag but three bags. She was shopping while she was gone. She had meant to make him wait. He smirked. She must have a lot of guts to do that.

Sakura stared at the two uncomfortably. It was obvious that this was the guy's girlfriend. She understood now why he mistook her for the girl. They were wearing very similar dresses except the other girl's dress looked brand new…. She didn't want to go between their lover's quarrels so this is her cue to scram!

She returned the sunhat to its rightful place and shook her shoulder-length bubblegum-pink hair free. "I got to go now, Mr. Uchiha," she said hastily and combing her hair into place with her fingers.

He smiled. "Call me Sasuke, Sakura."

"Okay, Sasuke," she agreed. "Goodbye!" she waved as she ran toward the exit. Once outside, she breathed a sigh of relief that was awkward. If she ever saw that Uchiha Sasuke again, it would be too soon

She giggled. Too bad he was taken. He was so cute.

Well, Sasuke was not going to be "taken" for very long and if Sasuke had anything to do about it, he and Ms. Haruno will be seeing each other…

VERY soon…

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Sasuke watched as the pink-haired girl leave towards the exit. He watched silently as her silky-looking hair bounced from side to side.

"Interesting girl," he thought.

"Sasuke-kun! Are you listening to me?"

One word formed on his mouth. "No."

She didn't heed the sarcasm in his voice. "While I tried so hard to look beautiful for you, you're flirting with other girls."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. What an actress!

"Don't I mean anything to you, Sasuke-kun?" she pretended to tear.

"Not really."

There was no mistaking the look of utter disbelief in her eyes…

"Listen…let's cut to the chase…

"Are breaking up with me…"

"I think we should break up…" they chorused at the same time.

The girl stared at him unblinkingly then suddenly the blonde squealed like a deranged pig getting ready to be cooked over an open fire. "NO! You can't! I…i…it hasn't even been a week yet!"

He smirked. "Wow, a new record."

"What will my friends say?" she whined. "I told them that you're MY date tonight. What will they think?"

Sasuke just yawned. He'd seen this happen countless times before and he had said the same thing. "You know what? What makes you think I care?''

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**Tsubame:** Hehehehe…sorry to for starting another story! It's just that my memory is failing. I can write "The Beauty of the Cherry Blossoms" with no problems if only I knew what happened last. I hope you like this story. I'm practicing different genres. This is SUPPOSED to be humor/action/ Romance….you can't really see it here yet but wait for the next chapters….hehehehehe… 

For those who truly waited for "The Beauty of the Cherry Blossoms," thank you. I'll try to make this one even better but first do me this favor, ok? Luv YAH!

By the way, this blonde girl in the story isn't Ino. I don't want to turn her into a villain. I feel sorry for her sometimes in the fics some people write. Is she really that evil? I wonder…


	2. Chapter 2

**Tsubame:** A suggestion was given that I do the name thing right, so here it is. The names are now in the correct position…at least in Japanese.

Thank you all for the reviews! I'm glad you like the story! I hope nothing bad happens like computer crashing and stuff…grrr…I hate that…

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Lee and company…Basically I just don't own the Naruto Anime…

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**Chapter 2: Haruno Sakura**

What can you complain to somebody who IS practically everything?

She is incredibly sweet and nice, approachable, friendly, frighteningly intelligent and very beautiful.

All other girls can do is watch and drool. The guys loved her sweet disposition; it wasn't difficult to make friends with her since she is s approachable, friendly with everyone regardless of jock or geek, she is a certified genius; she is actually a year younger than her classmates and what is not to love about her bubblegum pink locks, the indescribable green eyes…

Since she entered the school, girls have been desperately searched for a flaw…a fault…a pimple…a scar….ANYTHING! To tarnish her…but nothing….it is like she wasn't human.

There was nothing to complain about…

…unknown by them…Haruno Sakura did have a fatal flaw…she has a very short temper…you don't want to cross paths with her when she's angry.

Didn't they realize that nobody's perfect?

Sheeeshhh… that's about the basic rule of life…probably after the golden rule…or was it love conquers all…or was it----

Well, anyway. She wasn't perfect. She is slowly overcoming that flaw though…although…VERY slowly.

"520…520…520…ahh! Here we go!" she thought. She was looking for her locker. She doesn't like to notice the people around her.

She misinterprets their staring. She thinks that they stare because of her hair. She has to admit that it is strange the color. It is pink! It is natural. The people in her old school still have trouble believing that it was the natural color.

She admittedly reminded herself the reason why she never had that many friends in her old school was because of her very short temper. She was determined to make a difference here.

What was the combination again?" she murmured. "10-25-50-15---"

"Hey, babe," a voice behind her said. "I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

"Okay, Haruno. This is your chance," she scolded to herself, itching to hit the guy. "Just act calm…and before doing anything stupid count 1-10."

Normally, she would apply 10 years of martial arts on him. She thought against it. The last time she did that she had to pay for his two months admission in the hospital.

"Haruno Sakura," she replied while still mentally counting. She went beyond ten and was now on 14. She refused to face him but he could still see her very clearly.

The guy's aura screamed jock. Messily combed brown hair and eyes, a basketball in one arm and leaning against a locker beside a pretty girl. Yup! Definitely a jock. "My…you're a cutie. You're new, right? Why don't I show you around? Afterwards, why not I treat you for lunch?"

She was about to refuse when another voice came. "Oi, you can't show her around. Datte ba yo"

"Huh? Why not?" he demanded.

Behind her, she saw another guy about her age. He was cute with his uncombed blonde hair, cheerful blue eyes and bright smile. She did wonder about the lines on his cheeks. She wondered if they were tattooed on.

The brown-haired guy frowned. "Hmph, it's you Naruto."

Naruto ignored him and turned to Sakura. "You must be Sakura-chan," he said smiling.

His smile must have been contagious because Sakura smiled back. "Yes, Haruno Sakura."

Naruto gave her a mock salute. "Uzumaki Naruto, at your service! Datte ba yo!"

She couldn't help it. She giggled. Here was one person who treated her like a human being.

Naruto turned to the guy. "Oi, I can handle it from here."

The guy left grumbling about a stupid clown, klutz and fox?

Naruto returned his attention to Sakura. "Hi, I will be showing you around…Tsunade-sensei requested it."

Sakura completely trusted this guy now. She knew who Tsunade-sensei is very well. She was her aunt and guardian while her parents were working in China. Her aunt would never let just any guy show her around unless he was somebody he could trust. "Well, thanks. I could really appreciate a tour. I don't know most of my classrooms."

"Can I see your schedule?"

She handed him a piece of paper, which contains her class schedule, room numbers, teachers and etc…

"Wha---Sakura-chan. We have the same classes! Datte ba yo!"

"That's great!" she exclaimed. She remembered her locker. "Wait a minute, Naruto. I'll just put some things in my locker first."

She pulled and tugged it didn't open. "What's wrong with this stupid thing?"

"Ahh! You got the locker 520? Datte ba yo."

"Yes, it won't open."

"I got this locker three semesters ago. It has always been this way," Naruto asked her to move aside. "There is a technique for this…all you need to do is hit VERY hard on this certain spot…and…"

BANG!

"Tadahhh!" he bowed dramatically by a now opened locker.

Sakura pretended to gasp with amazement and clapped. She tried to suppress a giggle fit. "Impressive."

Naruto scratched his head and grinned back. He liked this girl instantly. She was not at all snobbish. "I wonder what Sasuke will think of her?" he thought. "Knowing him, she'd probably be his next catch."

Suddenly, the speakers turned on. A voice came and echoed in the halls. "Attention…attention…This is Mr. Hatake…Hatake Kakashi. May we request Ms. Haruno to please come to the faculty immediately. Thank you."

Sakura groaned. What was it now?

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. "I guess I'll see you in class instead?"

"I don't know where the classroom is," she whined.

"Hehe…don't worry! Datte ba yo" he assured her. "Knowing Kakashi-sensei, he will only be too willing to escort a lovely girl like you to your classroom."

She blushed at his complement. She really had trouble accepting other people's complements. She doesn't really believe them…though they came VERY often.

"Which way is the faculty?" she asked. She was in the danger of getting lost in this school. It was too big and probably twice the size of her old school.

Naruto pointed to his right. "Over there. Go straight…it's not hard to find. The third classroom on the right."

She nodded. "I guess I better get going now! Jan e!" she said, waving and running towards the direction

"Hai! Sayonara, Sakura-chan!"

She sighed when she was finally out of his sight. She was relieved to find a friend. She had doubts at first to come to school that morning. The only reason she was there was probably the two hour debate her aunt and her had the night before.

She wanted to take her time and not join that morning and have at least three days to adjust to this new life. It wasn't easy being the new kid. Meaning…no school or homework for sometime. She's smart but she's still a teenager…the thought of a break from school is too tempting.

Tsunade-sensei, aka her aunt, wanted things differently. She wanted her to start her adjusting INSIDE the school. She joins classes as soon as possible!

Sakura admitted that she was scared. What if she never met any friends? It would be awful! She didn't want to go through that! Ever! The thought gave her stomach cramps…

"One…two…three…" she counted silently, "This must be it!"

Naruto's directions helped!

But….the big sign that said, "SCHOOL FACULTY" helped too…

She knocked softly, then a voice within told her to come in. Inside, she saw a man with his back on her. From behind she saw spiky, silver hair. He didn't look like any teacher she's ever known. But then again…she hasn't seen his face. He was looking out the window and seemed to be sorting through a file.

"He must be an old man," she thought, seeing his silver hair. She looked around. No other teachers. They must be in their classes already. "So why am I here?"

"You called me, sensei?" she asked.

"Mmmmm…" was the reply.

Silence…

**Five minutes later**

"Do you need anything, sensei?"

"Not really…"

Silence…

**Ten minutes later**

"Is there anything more, sensei?" she growled.

"In a minute…"

**15 minutes later**

"Is there any reason at all that I'm here?"

"Mmmm…not really."

Silence…

**15 minutes LATER**

"That's it I'm outta here!"

The man suddenly SLAMMED the file on the desk, startling her. She heard the man chuckle.

"What's so funny?" she demanded. "I warn you…I know karate and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Did she just say that to a teacher?

The man faced her finally. She really wanted to see his face but…surprisingly…

She couldn't…

Half his face was covered by a mask. Only his eyes were visible. "Tsunade-san was right, Sakura-chan. You do have quite a temper…"

Sakura didn't what to be surprised more…what he had said…

Or…

The fact that he was wearing a mask….

……

The mask…definitely the mask….

"Sakura-chan, how are you adjusting to this school?" he asked, smiling. Is he smiling? She has a hard time telling but from the look in his eyes and movement of his lips through the mask he is. "Is there anybody giving you trouble?"

"No not at all," she assured. "I even found a friend this early!"

"A friend? Who?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, I think…"

"Ahhh…Naruto…a good boy but a bit of a klutz," he commented. He snapped his fingers, "If I remember correctly, he's bestfriends with Uchi---"

The bell rang signaling the end of the first period.

"Opps! That means that you'll be in time for your second period!" he exclaimed.

"Bu…but sensei! I don't know where my next class is!"

"Don't worry…I'll take you," he said opening the door for her. he moved from behind the desk to the door so fast that she didn't even notice. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be traveling these halls alone."

She giggled, remembering what Naruto told her about this teacher. "Thank you. But…sir? Why did you call me and made be wait for that long?" for some reason, she liked him yet what was with the mask?.

"Oh? I just wanted to see if what the file said is true. That you have a very short temper and that you actually hit a teacher in your old school BECAUSE of that temper." He shrugged.

She blushed. She remember that teacher…it was her PE teacher that won't leave her alone and kept making her do push-ups and lifts with no end. She finally blew her top when he made her carry their gear while hiking.

"Hehe…funny, huh?" she said nervously.

So much for a new start….

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Sasuke came out of the Student Council room (he didn't know why but he was always chosen for thingslike student council)in time to see Kakashi-sensei coming out of the faculty. He seemed to be with somebody. Knowing their sensei, it was probably female. Kakashi's weakness had always been females…to be precise…pretty females. Regardless of young and old as long as they are pretty is enough.

He was perverted but he respected women.

He had a secret stash of…well…books which are to say the least not good for children. Always had his nose buried in them when his nose isn't buried in that MASK of his.

Nobody knows why he wears it…and…Sasuke didn't really care…well, maybe he was curious a bit but not really. His other classmates have done the craziest things to get that mask off him…

He frowned. Behind him, Sasuke could have sworn he saw…pink?

Familiar…

He heard a giggle.

Wait a minute…

"Ms. Haruno, I hope you will enjoy your stay in our fine institution."

_Haruno?_

"_My name is Haruno Sakura not girly or is your memory as pathetic as your apology?"_

That girl's name was Haruno. Could it be?

"It's nice to be welcomed, Kakashi-sensei," a female voice replied.

Her face came to view. It really was the girl at the shop!

Haruno Sakura…

He grinned. What a coincidence that she'd be here! He gazed at her face, a lovely smile, unique green eyes and her hair? He couldn't even begin to describe it.

She has the face…she's a potential candidate.

Well…after his last girlfriend, he feels that maybe this girl won't be as "troublesome" as Shikamaru always says, as this one.

He saw them disappear around the corner. But he didn't move for a long time. He knew that he was going to be late but he didn't really care. He knew his next teacher and all had to do was do a little sweet-talking and he was home-free!

Hmmmm…was she going to be in any of his classes?

It wouldn't really matter…he'd take care of it if she wasn't….

_**To Be Continued...**_

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**Tsubame:** Hehehehe…another chappie! Yippie! It is going to be difficult from now on. I won't be able to update so fast, since I'll be multi-tasking! I'm planning to take part of the "story writing" and photography for an art book my friends are making. Aside from the technicalities, there are also the stories and etc to make!

sigh...

I will be writing fanfics and another story too. But they are thinking of postponing everything because we are busy and that we have exams...

I know we're all busy! By the way, in case you don't know...datte ba yo is what Naruto always says after every sentence in the Japanese dub at least. It is like his trademark...


	3. Chapter 3

**Tsubame**: I am soooooo busy! Wah! Before I had time to reply to almost all my readers, now I hardly have time to reply a couple of reviewers….

Anyway…I still have time to write! Hurrah!

**Cherry-eingel**: _Salamat sa review ha! Hehehehehehe…sa totoo lang mas gusto ko ang short-haired Sakura. May pagka "symbolic" para sa akin ang paggupit. Noong ginupit na ang buhok niya, diba parang hindi na siya "fangirl" na palaging…Eeeekkkk! Sasuke-kun! I love you! Marry me! Ahhhh! Have my children!…hala! _

_That is the reason why she annoyed me so much before. Pero gusto ko na siya ngayon dahil nagbago siya… _

_Oo, Sakura/Sasuke talaga ako. Sa totoo lang naawa ako kay Sakura dahil wala na si Sasuke… Hay! That is why this fic is AU. Hindi ko gusto ang pagalis ni Sasuke. Pero Masashi Kishimoto is a genius! Yeah!_

Hehehehehe...time to talk in English! Ahem…thanks to all that reviewed! I'm sorry I took so long to update. I forgot to mention about our exams…hehehehehe…seriously, if anybody out there has questions don't hesitate to ask. I always answer…though not right away.

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto…it is the property of Masashi Kishimoto! My idol in both art and storyline…

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**Chapter 3: Uzumaki Naruto**

Well, we all can't have everything in life.

Uzumaki Naruto sure doesn't. Sure, he was on the basketball team and though he was not as popular as his bestfriend he was still popular. He didn't have the best grades but some of the teachers like him because he was enthusiastic and dependable. Some of the teachers didn't because he was loud, a klutz and at times sarcastic.

He was the complete polar opposite of Uchiha Sasuke but they've recognized each other as bestfriends since their kindergarten days. They competed at everything soccer, baseball, basketball, martial arts, history, science…you name it. It was just a little "friendly" competition. Except maybe martial arts, then they give their all. They both usually came out with a bruise or two. But if there was one thing they didn't compete at is girls…

Sasuke never steals any of Naruto's girlfriends with his good looks. Except that time Naruto's girlfriend tried to use Naruto to get to him. He charmed her…and got her to confess on tape recorder. The blonde was furious at first but he forgave him. His bestfriend was just trying to help though he would never admit it.

Naruto too never used his boy-next-door charms on Sasuke's girlfriends. Naruto charms little kids, old ladies, teens…well females of all ages. He doesn't do it on purpose though. Sometimes Sasuke's girlfriends would find themselves drawn to the blonde after conversing with him for a few minutes…well… scratch that…he never on PURPOSELY charm Sasuke's girlfriends. What Sasuke thought? Well, he pretty much didn't care…

Naruto was loud, clumsy, at times clueless and impulsive. He did things without thinking. He could stay in a relationship MUCH longer than Sasuke.

Sasuke was silent, calculative, looks at everything through a cynic's eye and had a new girlfriend every week.

It is a mystery why these two got a long at all. The duo was a mystery to the faculty. Two people can't be more different yet treated one another like brothers. Sometimes Sasuke thought Naruto was more his brother than Uchiha Itachi, though again he would NEVER admit it.

Naruto slammed his locker shut and began walking towards the cafeteria.

"Naruto-kun!"

He turned to find Yamanaka Ino, his girlfriend of three months. "Konnichiwa, Ino-chan," he greeted politely. They began walking together towards the cafeteria.

Though they had bee together for three months, they never acted like a couple at all. They acted more like buddies than anything else.

Naruto was popular because he was one of the best basketball players in school. He did get in trouble a lot of times for not listening to instructions from their team captain Shikamaru Nara but otherwise they were pals. Ino was popular because she was one of the pretty and SMART cheerleaders. I'm not saying cheerleaders are dumb. She's just smarter than the average.

They were two popular and single people. Why not? But there was no spark. "'What can I do for Ino-chan today? Datte ba yo…"

"Nothing really," she shrugged. "I was just looking for Hinata-chan. Have you seen her?"

Naruto blushed. Hyuuga Hinata was Ino's bestfriend. Before Ino and he became a couple, he had been trying to ask Hinata out a lot but somehow her cousin Hyuuga Neji always got in the way. He watched her with a hawk's eye and nobody gets to her without going through him.

The only reason he even got to ever talk to her at all is that Ino was her bestfriend and Neji couldn't stop him from getting to her.

"No. I haven't seen her all morning. Gomen…" he began to fidget.

She laughed. "Relax Naruto-kun. I'm not going to kill you for not knowing." She misunderstood the reason for his fidgeting.

He laughed awkwardly. "I see. That's good…datte ba yo…"

"Ne, Naruto-kun. I heard you are showing the new girl around."

"Huh? Ah, yeah! Sakura-chan!" he replied. He had showed her around campus all morning. He got a few envious and murderous looks but nobody was willing to fight him. When needed, Naruto was one heck of a fighter.

"Mmmm…is she cute?"

He nodded. Not understanding where this was going.

"Did you warn her about your bestfriend yet?" Before Naruto, Ino was one of Sasuke's girls. They broke up after a week. "Are you going to warn her? Or leave her as an easy pray for Sasuke-kun?"

"Ummm…uhhhh…" he started. He could tell that Ino hasn't completely gotten over Sasuke yet. He doesn't dislike her for it. No girl could get over him. This was like a relationship for convenience. They were just seeking company.

"Ino-chan, Naruto-kun."

A familiar voice called. It was barely a whisper.

"Hinata-chan! There you are!" running to her bestfriend. "I've been looking for you all morning."

Hyuuga Hinata, heir of the famous Hyuuga family of Konoha. She was usually so shy and on the quiet side but don't let that fool you. She may never be as strong as her cousin Neji but she can stand on her own on a fight. She's a fourth degree black belt. She was cute with clear pearly eyes, long hair and flawless creamy skin.

Right now, her cheeks were flushed. Naruto was used to seeing her blush every time she was around him. She looked cute and very nervous. He doesn't really know why she blushed like that around him. He did find her cute blushing.

Naruto smiled but almost frowned when he saw Hyuuga Neji who acted almost like a bodyguard was right behind her. He was a tenth degree black belter and a force to be reckoned with in a fight.

Hyuuga Neji with Hinata's same pearly eyes, signature scowl and long black hair…well…for years teachers have been trying to talk him into cutting his hair. Unsuccessful though, he is the kind of guy you can never tell what to do. They talked to his family…unfortunately long hair is like a signature hairstyle for Hyuugas, they didn't care. Almost everyone in the family had long hair. The faculty couldn't do anything so they let Neji keep his hair.

"Hinata-chan, konnichiwa," he waved to her. It doesn't look like he's going to get any closer. Neji was scowling at him again.

"Na---Na---Naruto-kun, ahhh…" she stuttered. "Konnichiwa."

Before Naruto could say anything else, Ino began dragging her towards the library. "Let's go Hinata-chan! You promised to help me study!"

Naruto met her eye for a brief moment. He smiled and she blushed even more, then they disappeared on the next corner. It doesn't look like he was getting a chance to speak to her. Neji followed them but not before throwing Naruto a warning look.

He sighed. He had better get moving…he promised to meet Sakura at the cafeteria. He wanted so much for Hinata-chan to join them and hopefully have a chance to talk…he'd even bear with Neji's company…

By the door s of the cafeteria, he saw Sasuke leaning against the wall and seemed to be waiting for him. He had a small smile on his lips that only meant one thing. He was planning something…and it had to do something with him…

It always did…

"Are you coming for lunch, Naruto?"

The blonde groaned. He knew where this was heading. "You know very well the answer to that question, aho."

"Dobe," he answered back, following him inside.

This was Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. It is a relationship of insulting one another and fighting. They stayed out of one another's business unless they invite the other to see this "business."

Naruto had a feeling Sasuke already found out about Sakura. With her looks, Sakura stood out like a sore thumb. He was never really surprised. Sasuke seemed to have hidden networks everywhere that even he, his bestfriend didn't know… for the latest "catches."

It sounds like they are fishes…but anyway… this is his way of thinking. Like a little game.

Sasuke never tried to "catch" Hinata though. Not because of Neji. It was out of respect for his friend, which he knew perfectly well, liked her. He would never admit it though…

Naruto never really told him about liking Hinata…but in Sasuke's eyes he hasn't really been very subtle… he still didn't understand why he stuck with Ino though.

"Sakura-chan! Konnichiwa!"

Sakura looked up from the book she was reading. Naruto's jaw almost dropped when he saw that it was ADVANCE Physics. There was another book beside her ADVANCED Anatomy.

She saw the odd look he was giving her. Did she do something wrong? "What?"

"You re---re----read that on for fun!"

She glanced at the book she was holding and grinned. She shook her head and laughed. "No, of course not. I'm just studying this. When I'm VERY bored that I want to pass out I read this."

"You feel like passing out?" he asked, scratching his blonde head in confusion.

She groaned." You told me earlier that you would be here an hour ago…what happened?"

"Huh? Ummm…I was…" he really didn't want to tell her that he was looking for Hinata-chan. She was missing that morning and he was worried. Come to think of it, he forgot to ask her where she was that morning.

He heard a cough behind him. Oh he almost forgot that his bestfriend was behind him. He might as well get on with it. Sasuke would always find a way to get to know her sooner or later. He always does. He didn't want to start a fight by refusing him…

"Sakura-chan, by the way…this idiot behind me is Uchiha Sasuke,"

"Konnichiwa, Sasuke-san!" she greeted cheerfully.

Sasuke?

Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Konnichiwa, Haruno Sakura…"

* * *

No…it couldn't be…could it… 

Please don't…

It was…

There he was Uchiha Sasuke…infamous player of both sports…and females…of course she didn't know that yet. Which is very much Sasuke's advantage.

"Ms. Haruno, a pleasure to meet you again," he said taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

Her cheeks flushed. Why did he have this effect on her? It was not natural. No boy ever made her flush like this ever. And there had been a lot of boys who tried to. It was either they left disappointed…crying…or bruised…

Naruto was looking from Sakura to Sasuke. "You know each other already?"

"Yes, at the mall…"Sasuke mumbled.

"We're just acquaintances," she told Naruto. Why did she have a feeling that this guy wasn't here for mere coincidence? "We just happened to bump into each other. No biggie."

Naruto's forehead wrinkled with uncertainty. He wasn't sure if he should believe that. Something happened probably. Something USUALLY happened when Sasuke was with a girl…any girl…

Usually after the week is over…it is either the females leave disappointed…crying…but thankfully not bruised…the only one emerging bruised was Sasuke.

"Sasuke-san, are you eating lunch here?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Actually, I didn't even invite him. He actually invited himself."

"Shut up! Annoying fox," Sasuke hissed.

"Make me, do aho…"

"Are you looking for a fight?"

"Why? What if I am?"

Sakura's sweat dropped. This was getting messy. She better make her exit. Silently, she began picking up her books and slowly got up.

"Where are you going!" they chorused.

She paused on midair. "Ummm…ladies' room?"

"Stay!" they ordered and they went on with their little debate.

They may be polar opposites but when it came to bossing her around, they had a lot in common. This was going to take a while…she did have a "sort-of" big brother at home. They never got a long and when they did get into an argument it lasted for HOURS. She had a feeling these two are no different.

"Sasuke, I didn't even invite you!"

"I never asked for an invitation!" Sasuke retorted. "And since when have I EVER needed YOUR invitation or permission?"

"Baka!"

"Dobe!"

She folded her arms. She thought that she was going to enjoy her stay here in this school. These boys were fighting in a way that reminded her of kindergarten. In other words…they were acting like children. "Boys and their stupid pride," she mumbled.

"Did you say something, Sakura-chan?" Naruto was still staring Sasuke down. He was now balling his fists.

"Nothing…"

No way was she going to stay stuck with these two.

The two friends sprung…

Suddenly…

"Ummm…ahhh…Na---Naruto---kun?" Sakura heard a faint whisper. She saw a very pretty girl with clear pearly eyes and dark hair complementing her flawless, creamy skin to perfection.

Naruto's whole face lit up and became cheerful again, still holding on to Sasuke's shirt , his fists ready to jab him. While Sasuke's fist was almost made direct contact with the blonde's face. . the fist froze mere inches away…

"Hinata-chan, hi!" Naruto called out.

Sasuke simply nodded in greeting.

Both boys let go of the other but gave warning looks that promised that they were going to continue this later. Naruto turned to Hinata and smiled brightly, "What can we do for you, Hinata-chan!"

She smiled prettily, not meeting their eyes. "I was wondering if you could introduce me to Ms. Sakura-chan."

"Ahh! Of course. Hinata-chan this Haruno Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan, this is Hyuuga Hinata."

Hinata held out her hand. "It is nice to meet you, Sakura-chan."

Taking her hand in hers and shaking it lightly. "You too."

After they shook hands, Naruto interrupted. "Hinata-chan, where were you this morning. I was worried about you."

Hinata again flushed into a tomato. She didn't know what to say. But she couldn't help blushing. Naruto-kun said it. "It was like a dream come true," she thought.

"I was just…ummm," she stuttered. "I went to the…ahhh…"

"She went to the dojo with me," Neji suddenly appeared behind her. "Our sensei called us saying he had good news for both of us." He was just as stern as ever. He saw Hinata having trouble saying what she means as always when she's with Naruto.

"What's the news?" Naruto asked. He then turned to Sakura. "In case you're wondering, Sakura-chan. That stupid looking guy beside Hinata-chan is her cousin, Hyuuga Neji."

Neji chose to ignore him. "Both Hinata and I are chosen for the national karate tournament in a few weeks," Neji informed them, shrugging like it was no big deal at all.

"Wooow!" Naruto stood up and began shaking his hand very hard. "A national competition! You and Hinata-chan must really be good! Where is it! I want to see it."

The Hyuuga shrugged in reply. A bit annoyed with this idiot shaking his hand. He felt like his arm was coming off. "The venue hasn't been confirmed yet, dropout!"

"Whatever," when Naruto got to Hinata he kissed the back of her hand. "Congratulations, Hinata-chan."

Now Hinata was really feeling faint. Her cheeks reddened to the color of a tomato, her heart was palpitating…she fainted.

"Hinata-chan! Are you okay?" Naruto said trying to revive her. "Why did you faint?"

* * *

While Naruto and Neji tried to revive the fallen Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura was left alone. 

"Nice to see you again, Ms. Cherry Blossom," Sasuke said suddenly.

"Please call me Sakura," she answered coldly.

Naruto was screaming, calling Hinata's name trying to wake her. The people in the cafeteria all had their eyes on him. Thinking it was so sweet of him to worry about her.

Naruto didn't notice but Neji did and after they woke up his little cousin he was going to beat him to a pulp.

Sakura groaned. Naruto was making a scene. As much as she liked Naruto, she was embarrassed to think that he always did this. Was he the master of making scenes?

She looked around the cafeteria. From the teachers to the kindergarten students all had their eyes on him. Well, Naruto certainly was the center of attention.

"Naruto had always been this popular," Sasuke spoke suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You were thinking did everybody always look at Naruto this way, weren't you?" he sat down beside her. "The answer is yes. He's a varsity player and in some girls eyes cute. So whenever Naruto made a scene all eyes are ALWAYS on him."

"Didn't he care?"

"I don't think he notices," he shrugged. "Some people think it's 'cute' that he isn't afraid to show what he's thinking."

"You're his bestfriend, right?" she pointed out. "Aren't you going to tell him? He is a tad bit too impulsive."

"No."

"Some bestfriend you are."

"Does he harm anyone in anyway with what he does?"

Surprised by the question, she just shook her head.

"Then I don't see any harm."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto appeared behind them, carrying an unconscious Hinata in his arms. "I need to take Hinata-chan to the clinic. Datte ba yo…"

"Bu---bu---but…"

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. Oi, Sasuke! Keep her company. Datte ba yo…" Naruto then ran to the door and of the cafeteria. Neji followed, with murder intent in his eyes. The cafeteria suddenly erupted to a thunderous applause at Naruto's "heroism."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. As usual, the blonde did something to attract more attention.

But at least he got what he wanted…he got to be alone with Sakura…

* * *

Sakura wishes somebody would just pierce a knife through her heart… 

"Please somebody kill me," she pleaded silently.

She was going to be alone with him…

The infamous Uchiha Sasuke…

She doesn't like it…doesn't like it at all…

* * *

**Tsubame: **Hehehehehe…I like this chapter. I like Hinata a lot! I'm listening to Naruto midi while writing this so I like how this chapter came out. I should do this to all my chapters…I have the latest chapters of Naruto…Hinata-chan is so kawaii! Awww…I'm now a certified NaruHina fan now! Hehehehe… 

Neji is soooo OOC here, I know. Neji? Protective of Hinata? Hehehehehehe…I just thought this idea would be cuter….

What the---Sasuke's theme is so…dead…

Oooooohhhh…Sakura's theme is so mellow…almost like a lullaby…

Naruto's theme is so…bouncy! Wwwwhhhhheeeeee….

Favour please! Can somebody tell me what my writing lacks? In all honesty please…I can't help feeling I lack something, you see… Please review and give a sincere opinion. I want to know if I improved…you don't really have to do it. If you have the time, please do this for me…


	4. Chapter 4

**Tsubame:** Thank you for the reviews! I don't have time to reply one by one anymore… I don't own Naruto or any of Masashi Kishimoto's characters…

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**Keimyou-chan: **HAHAHAHA! Me and my ever active imagination…

**Krista:** Ummm…Krista? When I read your review it kinda…ahhh…scared me…I'll try to update but I'm busy. Don't worry about not finishing…I don't plan of giving up any time soon. Please calm down, okay? –sweat drops- I can't say I hate you too…because I don't know you…I hope you'll differently about me in the future and let's be friends…

**Richard:** Hmmmm…descriptions? Can you be more specific? The date, the settings, the movements they make…all that? I have to describe every single one by detail? Hmmm….that will take a lot of work and I have three stories to update…if I apply this to all it will take me longer than the two weeks I usually take…I'LL DO IT!

**Cherry-eingel: **Nakita ko na ang bagong manga…oo masyadong stiff ang buhok ni Sakura pero maganda pa rin at idol ko pa rin si KIshimoto…Salamat sa review, ha! Pero para sa akin, ang love polygon and triangles ay na-overuse ko na. I think most of my fics are like that. So I'm going to make something else happen. Just read on…hehehehehe…

**sakurauchiha12: **Well, he immediately assumed that he can have her…that's all…I guess he's infamous (being famous in a negative sense) because he is the biggest playboy in school. That is enough for most people…heheheheh…

**Chapter 4: Haruno Sakura**

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* * *

Sakura never really considered herself to have everything. Actually she thought others had more than she had. What does she have?**

Her parents were in China and she only saw them a couple of times a year.

She is a smart girl with a big forehead but who would be proud of something like that?

She didn't look at all normal. The color of her hair is not normal…the size of her forehead is not normal…

What does she really have? Sometimes she wished that she was born normal.

She wished she could see her parents on a daily basis or at least more than twice a year.

She wished that she wasn't such a genius…maybe her forehead's size would be normal.

She was younger than most of her classmates, a year younger at least. She was sixteen and wouldn't be turning seventeen for another few months but she was already a sophomore in Senior High.

…and she had the hair color of NORMAL people…blonde, brunette, redhead…anything! Not an odd bubblegum-pink. Well, other people get silver hair…like Kakashi-sensei…but you have to admit…silver hair does look good on him…

**_From where we left off from the last chapter…_**

Sakura forced a smile. She didn't know what to make of Uchiha Sasuke. He had an air of superiority around him that she didn't like but…if he is the bestfriend of Naruto he couldn't be that bad, right?

He could tell they were close by the way they are always fighting. And she asked if he was his bestfriend he didn't deny it. Well, technically he didn't say they were bestfriends too but the important thing is he didn't DENY.

"What can I do for you, Uchiha-san?" she asked.

"I thought I told you to call me Sasuke, Sakura."

"Sorry…it slipped my mind…" she replied sarcastically.

He shrugged and sat on the seat across from hers. The table wasn't really that large. It is square-shaped and just right for just for two people actually. He could easily reach out and touch her…"Nothing much really…"

He was getting too close for comfort. She then began to gather her things. "If that is the case, I can go now…tell Naruto I will be at the library…"

Sasuke grabbed her wrist before she could stand up. "I'll go with you," he replied.

She shook her head furiously. "No he can't," she thought. "There is something about this guy that tells me to stay away."

"There is no need!" she told him. "I'm just going to study for an exam and borrow a book, so I don't want to bore you." She stared at his hand clutching tightly on her small wrist. So tightly in fact that she felt the lack of circulation. _"And you don't seem like the type to enjoy the library…"_ but of course she didn't say this…

Again, he shrugged. "Naruto told me to keep you company and I'm going to do that."

She sighed. He seems determined. "Okay, you can come…but can you do me a favor first?"

"What?"

"Could you let go now? I can't feel my hand anymore…"

Sasuke smiled and let go.

"Thank you," she said rubbing her sore wrist. There was a red mark on her wrist from where Sasuke grabbed her and it annoyed her. "If you really insist then let's go. I only have a half an hour left before class."

He nodded. Then they both exited the cafeteria.

Sakura was new to this school. The problem was that she didn't know where the library was…

Sasuke was amused by her agitation and didn't bother to tell her the location.

"Why don't you just TELL me where it is?" she practically screamed at him.

He smirked. "Find it yourself. I'm just here to keep you company not be your tour guide. That is Naruto's job."

"WHY I OUGHT TO----"

* * *

**Ten minutes later…**

"Finally!" Sakura sighed. "The library…"

"Congratulations! You found it," Sasuke drawled, mockingly clapping his hands.

"Yes, no thanks to you!" she drawled back.

"**Konoha High**," the name of the institute…has a very HUGE library…It has about fifty thousand books and has about five floors and divided into different sections such as the Social Sciences, Humanities, Sciences, Reference, Textbooks, Circulation and many more…

They had the latest security system perfect for rascals tempted to steal from this library. There are also computers for each floor for searching for particular books.

Let's study its history, shall we?

When the school opened in the year 1940 by Tsunade-sensei's grandfather, it began as a one-room school with only twenty students. The students had loved the school so much that they never wanted to leave…so the school opened a high school on 1960.

The Tsunade-sensei, Jiraiyah-sensei and Orochimaru-sensei had graduated there too. Orochimaru resigned from his teaching position on 1990 to start his own institution, Sound High.

Hatake Kakashi also graduated there and under Naruto's father only known as Yondaime. Yondaime died soon after Naruto's birth. Kakashi's bestfriend, Obito Uchiha, Sasuke's relative and Rin graduated with him. Rin is now the school nurse and Obito is teaching gym.

Tsunade-sensei didn't want to be the principal after her father passed away…she just wanted to teach, so Hatake Kakashi acted as principal. Strangely, Tsunade-sensei was already fifty years old but did not look a day over thirty.

The library had its opening on 14th of September 1995. It started with ten thousand books and has been growing ever since…

The librarian, an old woman with intelligent-looking eyes smiled at them and waved at their direction. This confused Sakura a bit until Sasuke waved back. He walked towards her but not before grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling her with him.

"Sasuke-kun?" the woman said. "It is good to meet you. I haven't seen you for a while. How are you?"

Sasuke smiled fondly and from the looks of it…genuinely. "I'm fine Mrs. Momose. I've just been so busy with Student Council to visit lately. "

"Ah…I understand," she turned towards Sakura. "Who is this young lady here?"

Sakura smiled and bowed politely. She still felt annoyed that Sasuke still had his hand on her arm from where he was pulling her earlier. "Haruno Sakura. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The librarian nodded. "Likewise I'm sure…" she turned to Sasuke smiling coquettishly. "Sasuke-kun, is she your new girlfriend?"

Sakura blushed and began to stutter. "G---girlfriend! What?" she shook her head furiously, "Ma'am, no! I'm not his girlfriend! I barely even know the guy! I can't even get along with him! How could anybody expect me to date HIM?"

"Really?" Sasuke whispered in her ear. "I thought we getting along soooo …well."

"Shut up," she spat.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" he shook his head. "Temper, my dear. You're in a library. Do quiet down…"

The librarian chuckled. She thought it was so sweet how these two argued like a married couple. "Well, my dears. If you need me, I will be here."

Sakura smiled at her despite her growing annoyance for the person beside her. "Thank you, ma'am."

She walked towards the nearest search computer and began to type. She listed down the number of the book on a piece of paper. Sasuke couldn't see what she typed so he didn't know what exactly she was looking for. Whatever it was she was very secretive.

She then went towards "Sciences" section. She was relieved that the library in Konoha high is similar to the library in her old school. The only difference is that it is much bigger here…

"Why don't you just say it?" Sasuke said. He was right behind her.

"What?" she was annoyed and irritated and she wanted to be alone when studying. Couldn't he understand that?

"I bet you're wondering how I knew the librarian so well."

She shrugged but actually she was wondering. "Not really. I bet you're a frequent visitor here to pick up girls."

"_Close,"_ Sasuke thought. He replied, "No of course not…did you really think that I'm a straight A's student with my charms alone?"

She faked another one of her smiles. "Actually yes…I did…"

Sasuke grinned. "My, my…Ms. Haruno, you hurt me immensely. Or are you trying to flatter me, thinking that I can charm anybody?"

"Probably anybody," she shrugged. "…except me…"

"You seem confident…"

"Can we continue this conversation another time?" she asked. "As you can see, Uchiha-san, I'm busy. I don't want to hear about your achievements right now…or ever!"

She began to scan through the titles of each book, trying to ignore the other person's presence although it did prove to be a bit difficult.

Sasuke too began to scan through the books and humming a tune to himself at the same time.

"Please don't pretend to be interested on my account." She told him, seeing that he wasn't leaving. "You could go now and pick up girls somewhere else. I promise I won't tell Naruto."

"Hmm…Sakura-chan, don't make your own conclusions," he replied. "Whoever told you that Physics doesn't interest me? Didn't you know that Naruto and I use Physics at times for our games? And Math too in fact… You should watch us play sometimes."

He took a book from the shelf, 'The Human Anatomy by Yakushi Kabuto.' Yakushi Kabuto was a child prodigy of the school and won competition after competition for mostly Science but transferred when he reached High school to Sound High.

Now he acted as an assistant teacher for Kimimaru-sensei. Though sometimes it makes you wonder, who is the assistant and who is the teacher?

Sasuke opened the book to the first page, "Sometimes it became necessary to study Anatomy. Sometimes many of our teammates get injured during games and practices and we don't have enough doctors and nurses to go around. So…Haruno Sakura, don't think that you're the only smart kid around."

She blushed but then continued to search.

Sasuke remembered one time during soccer practice. His teammate had an asthma attack. There were no nurses around. He and Naruto made a great team that day. Sasuke already knew what to do but of course he needed some equipment but he couldn't leave the patient.

Naruto joined their practice for that day. He is pretty much useless when it came to healing. Instead, he had Sasuke list down what he needed and he'd get them, since he was the fastest runner. They were able heal him long enough to get him to the hospital in time. It turned out that the guy had a weak heart and could have died.

He respected Naruto but he didn't like the idea of him hanging around Sakura that much. "…and whatever gave you the reason that I'm only here because that dobe told me to?" he continued. "I do as I please. Nobody tells me what to do…"

She finally found the book she was looking for, 'Advanced Physics for idiots by Maito Gai.' Although the title is a bit…well strange it is said to be a good book and recommended by her aunt. Gai-sensei was student of the institute long ago. He came every once in a while to give speeches about his works and the Springtimes of youth?

She walked towards Mrs. Momose and handed her the book to be scanned for borrowing. Of course, Sasuke followed her. "I hope to see you two again soon," Mrs. Momose said.

Sasuke draped an arm around Sakura's shoulder. "You can count on it." Making Sakura blush even more…

The first bell rang and signaling that they only had five more minutes to get to their next class. Unfortunately, she and Sasuke were still in the same class. Is it a coincidence or is he in all her classes?

"Stop it…" she sneered.

"What?"

"Stop acting like we're a couple. People will get the wrong idea."

He shrugged. "It would be their fault to think of such things…"

She shrugged his arm away which was still draped around her shoulder. "Well, it is your fault too for giving them such ideas…"

* * *

"What am I doing wrong?" Sasuke asked himself during Chemistry class. Sakura was right in front of him and he couldn't help but stare at her soft-looking pink hair. "What am I doing wrong with her?" she should be begging him to be her boyfriend by now.

He had tried almost everything but she only pushes him away. Yet he found her more and more intriguing the more time he spent with her.

The lesson drawled on. He felt like yawning…the chemical compositions of salt, silver or gold never interests him. He had a different type of CHEMISTRY in mind.

But he saw that Sakura was taking notes like crazy…

He had to think of something…

From the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto writing another letter for Hinata that Sasuke knew he won't send. It happens all the time. He writes a letter telling her that he liked her and then throw it away, tear it apart or in some cases eat it. One time Hinata caught him choking on some paper, she had to get him to spit the paper out by pumping air from his stomach.

When it was finally out, Naruto fainted. Hinata thought he was going to die and panicked. She thought that she needed to perform mouth to mouth but when Naruto opened his eyes and found Hinata's face only mere inches from his, it only made him lose further consciousness.

Neji didn't like the idea of Hinata touching lips with Naruto and suggested that somebody else does it. That dropout didn't deserve to even go near Hinata. But nobody was about to volunteer. They ALL wanted to finally see the two of them kiss…

Sasuke smirked that was such an entertaining sight and again the whole class had been watching.

Everybody already knew that the two like each other, so imagine everyone's surprise when Naruto began dating Ino, Hinata's bestfriend.

He couldn't understand how his bestfriend could be so dense. It frustrated him. What in the world was he waiting for? Sometimes he wondered how Naruto could act so tough when they competed yet was so pathetic when it came to girls and his love life.

He shook his head. It was none of his business. So what if they wanted to spend the rest of their life waiting for the other. They are just so slow…

* * *

"What!" Sakura exclaimed. "You mean Naruto and Hinata-chan?"

Class was over and Sasuke insisted that they walk to the next class together. Naruto was sent to the clinic…again. She was alone with him again. Well, maybe not alone since there were a lot of students around running to their next classes.

Sasuke nodded. Naruto had eaten the paper again and Sakura was worried about him, it annoyed Sasuke so he told her about the letter. "Yeah, he does it all the time. He never sends it though. He doesn't have the guts to."

"Is it because of Neji-san?" she asked. "I mean Neji-san did look kind of scary but Naruto doesn't look like the type to cower…"

He shook his head. "No. Naruto isn't afraid of that baka. Actually that baka's girlfriend could keep him under wraps if he starts causing trouble. That Dobe is just generally pathetic with girls."

"Poor Naruto," she whispered. She hugged her book to her tighter. If only there was a way for her to help…

Sasuke yawned. He pretty much didn't care about Naruto's love life. That was the part of Naruto's life that he NEVER wanted to touch. Well, except for that one time with that girl using him…"He brings it to himself." Naruto was always trouble when Hinata was concerned.

She stuck out her tongue at him. How could he be so cold? Weren't the two supposed to be friends? "What kind of friend are you?"

He shrugged but didn't reply.

Sakura suddenly stopped. "Well, if that is the case then…WE will help them…"

He arched one eyebrow, not at all liking what she was implying. "What do you mean by WE?"

* * *

**Tsubame:** I hope this is descriptive enough for you! Hehehehehe…if I still need MORE descriptions don't hesitate to tell me… …ahhh…I just realized that these characters are soooooo OOC….Oh well…WAHH! I even created a school HISTORY to be more descriptive!

Constructive criticisms please…


	5. Chapter 5

**Tsubame**: Grrr… I have to be careful with my tenses… anyway, aside from my tenses people say that my writing style is okay so…yehey! I don't have to change to serious fluff! I stink at serious fluff… I leave the serious fluff to ShadowRose. Thanks for the reviews!

I really want to thank… **aliyanSakura#2 for the helpful advice (you can help me if you like! Thanks! But gomen my yahoo messenger seems to be broken…;;;) …animegoddess8786, hinako89, asucags- I'm glad that the g-seed fics isn't the only ones you read...Wind Kunai, Battie-2170, Itachi's Poison for being my new found friend…you gave me such great advice…saki-kun, Keimyou-chan, animemistress419, Kurenai Chinoumi, EnV, 4ever2belove, pei-chan, HaPpY-tImE-lOvEr, Chibi-Garra, Uchiha Sakura blossoms, edakumi-sama, CrAzY-SiLLy, abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyz, Mysterious Cherry Blossom07, animeluver46, itchinhi, Heartless Ghost**

Is this everyone? Basically I just want to thank all of you… hehehehehe…I want to thank you all for supporting my story….

I want to dedicate this chapter to my new friend **… Itachi's Poison… **

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto…they are property of Masashi Kishimoto…

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"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

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Chapter 5: Hyuuga Hinata

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She was called; "The Hyuuga Heiress" and she got nothing but the best. Only the best was "worthy" for this heiress… 

Hyuuga Hinata didn't ask for the "best". It was just given to her. In some cases, she didn't even want it. She was always enrolled to the best schools. Actually, she used to stay in an All-girl boarding school. When she reached High School, she had no choice but to go to Konoha High. It was labeled the best school in the country. Her father of course wanted her to have the best.

She had never been to a coed school before. She was even being privately tutored for her martial arts. She was supposed to have two bodyguards with her but she wouldn't have it. She didn't want two strange black tied and suited people following her around school. Picturing it in her mind sent shivers down her spine. Instead, her father with his twin's permission enrolled Hyuuga Neji, her cousin to keep an eye on her.

He never leaves her side except of course when she went to the bathroom. Sometimes Hinata went to bathrooms on purpose to get away from him.

When she was a freshman and nervous of her first day, she felt what every newbie felt on the first day. She was glad to be finally out of the strict school her father had sent her but it meant starting all over again. She was afraid of not meeting new friends. Actually, she began to wish she was back at her old school, but that was before she met Uzumaki Naruto…

* * *

When the cousins first stepped into the school that fateful first day, they had really caught attention. Neji caught attention with his unusual, long hair and subtle, pale good looks. Hinata was very pretty. She had the similar, pale good looks of her cousin's but the feminine version of course. But she mostly caught attention because everybody knew who she was. She was always on television with her father for something like featured charity balls, business talks and conventions… 

She didn't like it when people whispered around her. At that time, she had a feeling that those people were talking about her. She was right. They were. When Neji saw how uncomfortable she was, he gave a nasty frown to the people around them. It was like he was daring them to say more…

That had made them quiet…

"Neji-kun?" She whispered. She was looking up at him and pulling on his sleeves. She wanted him to divert his attention to her. "Do---don't hurt anybody, okay?"

Neji's eyes widen in surprise. How could she be so concerned about other people when they were acting like clucking chickens that didn't know when to keep their beaks shut? But he saw how serious she was, so he nodded.

They were given their schedules by Principal Hatake's secretary and Biology teacher, Shizune. Neji noticed that their schedules had differed. He went back to Kakashi-sensei's office to complain. He and Hinata were supposed to be in the same classes. Hinata was left all alone on the corridor.

The first bell rang but Neji wasn't back yet. She didn't want to be late on the first day so she decided to go ahead. She wasn't used to the fast pace of the school. Before she knew it, somebody bumped into her and sent her books flying. It was a case of hit-and-run. The perpetrator never even stopped to help.

Hinata stayed on the floor at first not moving. She was ready to burst into tears.

"Did he hurt you? Datte ba yo…"

Surprised, she looked up. It was the first time she saw Uzumaki Naruto. He had his hand outstretched to her. She hesitated before taking it. Naruto pulled her up. Strangely, they were eye-level. Naruto was very short back then and an inch shorter than Hinata…poor Naruto…

They held hands longer than they should have.

Hinata blushed. She covered her cheeks to hide them. "I…I…I'm so sorry…" she said.

Naruto chuckled and scratched his head nervously. "That's okay. Datte ba yo…" he began picking up her books which were still sprawled on the floor.

She bent to help him but he stopped her. "No…let me…"

She smiled shyly but then nodded. "Hai…" she diverted her eyes to the floor. She didn't want him to see her blush…

When he got all her books, he handed them to her. "They should give that guy a speeding ticket." He swung his own heavy bag over his shoulder. "Do you want to report this to the principal?"

"No…I'm quite alright," she tried to assure him. "It is just an accident. He didn't hurt me…"

He wasn't so convinced. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes. Don't worry about it.

Naruto wasn't sure he believed her but didn't want to push her. "So…where are you going?"

"Room 755 for Homeroom…" she felt self-conscious. She kept asking herself if her hair was okay, if her outfit dirty and if there was something on face. She didn't know how to act around him. That was the disadvantage of staying in an All-girl school half your life. When you do get out of it, you don't know how to act around the boys.

"That is where I am going!" he replied enthusiastically. "Let's go together!"

Hinata wasn't used to his enthusiasm but found that it was like a virus. She found herself catching his enthusiasm…in her own way though. "Really? That will be great…I…don't know my way around your school."

"Ahhh…you're new, aren't you?"

She nodded.

He grinned and gave her the thumbs up sign. "That is alright! I'll be your guide" he grabbed her hand and ran towards their classroom. They were already late. "By the way, I forgot to introduce myself…My name is Naruto….Uzumaki Naruto. You?"

Hinata wasn't used to being rushed. She was used to the quiet, calm and relaxed atmosphere of her old school but she found herself not minding. "Hinata…Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto smiled. "Nice to meet you, Hinata-chan!"

Naruto didn't read newspapers except for the comics' section and didn't watch the news. He'd rather have senseless cartoons and anime anytime. So he knew nothing about Hinata and the Hyuugas or their great fortune…

Hinata found that she liked Naruto's sense of humor and his kindness. She also liked his determination. They talked all the way to their classroom. She was able to find out a lot about him. He had been trying-out for the basketball team for years but he was just too short. That never stopped him though. He said that he was even determined to be the team captain someday.

"Go---good luck, Naruto-kun." She said, stuttering more than usual.

He chuckled. "Thank you, Hinata-chan. Datte ba yo…"

But their time together was short-lived though…because along came Neji… "Oi, dropout. What do you think you are doing?"

"Huh? Who do you think you're calling a dropout, baka?"" Naruto replied icily. The two stared each other down. Hinata watched them uncomfortably. She had to do something before Neji got detention on the first day.

She stepped between them. She watched Neji's fists. They were balled up tight and Naruto's were too. It would not end well if they started fighting. "Neji-kun, he wasn't doing anything… He was just walking with me to class. Right, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded but he was still frowning. Who was this idiot?

"See?" she said. "Well, Neji-kun? Did…Kakashi-sensei… change your schedule?"

After hearing that, Neji relaxed his fists a bit but he still didn't trust Naruto one bit. He managed to nod. "Yes, I was. We are in the same classes now."

"That is great, Neji-kun." Hinata then dragged Neji towards their classroom before he changed his mind. "I'll see you…after…class, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled and made a mock salute. "Hai!"

* * *

That was over a year ago. Who would have thought that Naruto could grow so much in a year? He used to be one of the shortest guys in the batch. He was now not only a player but also the team captain like he always wanted. He was going to need to work hard though. Not many people believe in Naruto's strength. He does have a reputation to be a complete klutz and troublemaker. 

Shikamaru used to be the captain but he is already the captain and star player of the chess team so it wasn't fair if he was the captain for the basketball team too. So the title of captain went to Naruto. It isn't easy filling in the shoes of a certified genius. Naruto didn't have Shikamaru's IQ of 200. What he has was his own strength and perseverance. It was enough to win the first three games of the season. They were even going to play against SAND High soon.

The SAND assistant coach, Temari rivals Shikamaru's genius actually. They were also fierce rivals in chess. Temari never turns down a chance to prove she was better. Shikamaru was the exact opposite. If only he wasn't so lazy he would be running the other way and away from her. To him, she was just another "troublesome girl."

A lot had changed in Naruto in both looks and in social status. It wasn't "impossible" fall in love with him anymore. He was such a klutz, loud and actually unbearable before. He's still a klutz, a lot of times loud and still unbearable but there was something about him that made you believe that he has indeed changed.

A lot of times Hinata finds herself staring at him. She didn't want to, when she knew she had other things to worry about but every once in a while she turns her head and watch him. Like that moment, she knew that she should be thinking about the new drills but it seems that she can't keep her mind in her karate.

Neji was going to be absent for the afternoon's lesson. He needed to talk to TenTen about an Algebra assignment. Usually, he was around to keep her head out of the clouds. But he wasn't and responsibilities for her safety were given to Aburame Shino. He was at that moment watching from a distance. She really didn't know what was going on with Shino. It was hard to read a guy when you can't even see his face. He was a nice guy but very strange.

She was in the dojo now, getting ready to start class. She couldn't keep her mind in what she was _supposed _to do. Naruto was there and he was with the newgirl, Haruno Sakura.

Hinata was saddened after seeing them together. She didn't believe that she had a chance with Naruto now. Haruno Sakura was prettier than her and seemed very sweet. Naruto obviously liked her. Hinata shook her head. What was she thinking? Naruto was dating her bestfriend and Naruto was no two-timer. There had to be another reason for him to be here.

Sakura was already dressed in her uniformed kimono and ready for class. She sat beside Hinata and Hinata couldn't help but feel self-conscious sitting beside her. Not only that but Naruto was looking in their direction. She reminded herself that Naruto was not there for her but Sakura-chan, so why was she allowing herself to be so affected?

"Hinata-chan? Are you okay?" Sakura asked. She noticed that her friend was being more quiet than usual that was for sure. "Is there something bothering you? You can tell me."

Hinata glanced at Naruto's direction and blushed. She was grateful that Naruto didn't see her. He was now busy talking to bestfriend, Uchiha Sasuke, who just arrived. Sakura saw though and being a smart girl put two and two together.

"He's cute isn't he?" She whispered.

"Huh?" Hinata stuttered. "Sakura-chan, I… I really don't…know what…you are talking about." She knew it was futile to play dumb. Sakura-chan wasn't that gullible to believe that.

The pink-haired girl chuckled. "I'm talking about Naruto."

The gong rang and signaled the beginning of class. Yuuhi Kurenai, their sensei, entered. Her assistant, Uchiha Itachi, was following closely behind her. Hinata always had trouble believing that Uchiha Itachi was related to Uchiha Sasuke. They were so different. Both boys were aloof but Itachi was virtually unreadable. She didn't know the whole story but from what she could see, the brothers were distant from each other. One treated the other like strangers. She heard that they used to be very close and that Sasuke always followed his brother's lead like a little puppy. She couldn't understand what happened.

"Who's that?" Sakura whispered. She found the man behind their teacher quite intimidating. There was also a resemblance in the two boys that she couldn't explain.

Hinata smiled and shrugged. "That's Uchiha Itachi… He's… Sasuke-kun's older… brother."

Sakura's eyes widen in surprise. She never would have guessed the two were even related. They acted very coldly to one another. Her curiosity was easily aroused. She couldn't help but wonder what happened between the two. When Sauke first came in, the older Uchiha didn't even acknowledge him and the same for Sasuke.

"Don't… even think about it," Hinata warned. "You don't know… what you're messing with."

Sakura pretended to not understand and smiled sweetly. "Huh?"

"I know that look of curiosity." Hinata had to stop Sakura from going to unwelcome territory. The Uchiha brothers' relationship was a sensitive topic and many preferred not to dwell on it. Not unless they wanted to see the light of day again. Whatever happened between the brothers was a popular mystery. Many theories and suspicions circulated about them but nobody could really be sure what was true.

Sakura gave a sigh of surrender. "Fine." As curious as Sakura was, she didn't want to start trouble so soon after starting school. It was probably just the nosy reporter in her talking but next time she should be careful. She shouldn't just jump into something she had no background of. She redirected her attention back to their sensei and their lesson.

"Welcome to another afternoon of karate," Kurenai-sensei said sternly. "I see that we have Mr. Uzumaki and Mr. Uchiha here for the afternoon. This is a miracle. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Naruto grinned nervously. "Nothing much really. We just came to watch."

Sasuke nodded, trying to avoid his brother's gaze. "We also heard that Hinata-chan is going to represent for a competition. We wanted to wish her luck and see what she can do."

Hinata blushed. She knew very well that Uchiha Sasuke was a great fighter. He was almost as good as her cousin and some say that he was even better. Naruto also had a reputation for fighting too but he wasn't the type to watch the fight. He was the most likely to be the one to start it. This was not good…she was feeling more self-conscious than usual now that Naruto-kun was there to watch her perform.

Ms. Kurenai turned to Sakura. "You must be the Ms. Haruno that I've heard so much about." Sakura fidgeted nervously, making the teacher smile. "I don't know whether I should be afraid or impressed. You've got a very…interesting record."

"You don't say," she managed to chuckle.

Kurenai-sensei clapped her hands to get back the attention of her class. "Why don't we give these two boys a demonstration, ne? Hinata-chan, you should be in top form." Sakura was trying to crawl away. "Ms. Haruno, let's see what you can do."

"Me?" She squeaked. "I don't know…I'm new here so why don't I just take a rain check?"

"You're not scared, are you, Sakura-chan?" Sasuke mocked. "Poor girl. She must be shaking like a leaf in fear."

Sakura ground her teeth. She never wanted to be here. She just wanted to join a few classes to find a way to get the two together. Sasuke wasn't much help. He just said that he'd watch but he would not interfere. "Let the two of them be," he said. "They're bound to notice something sooner…or later."

But Sakura had a feeling that it would be _very _later if she didn't do something about it.

"Fine!" She shouted and much to Kurenai-sensei and Sasuke's amusement. "I'll fight."

She took her position opposite to Hinata. "Are you ready, Hinata-chan? I won't go easy on you. So prepare yourself…"

Hinata giggled. "I wouldn't… expect anything… less, Sakura-chan. P…p…please let us… both give our best…"

Sakura nodded in agreement. Neither would insult the other by giving them an easy fight. Kurenai looked at both students. They both looked determined and ready. She knew that they were in for an interesting fight. Itachi, she observed only watched them and seemingly uninterested in what was taking place. He didn't care who won. He had better things to do than worry about two little girls fight.

He was about to leave when Kurenai-sensei stopped him. She shook her head and advised him not to leave yet. "Don't underestimate them, Itachi-san. Just stay and observe."

Itachi was silent but in the end he took his seat again and watched. This had better be worth his time.

Sasuke was watching when that scene took place. He almost wished that his brother would just leave but he shouldn't really care. Stay or leave? Whatever he chose had nothing to do with him.

It was Sakura who first launched an attack. Sakura was always more of the offensive then defensive but both skills she could do like any pro. Hinata was no pushover though. Sakura discovered that beating Hinata would be more difficult than she first thought.

Her offensive and defensive abilities rivaled hers perfectly. She was enjoying this fight already and it really made her smile. This rarely ever happened. "Hinata-chan, you're not bad." She began to hit Hinata with continuous kicks and punches.

Hinata switched to the defensive and blocked every hit. "You're…not bad… too, Sakura-chan."

This time Hinata switched to the offensive, while Sakura tried to avoid each hit. Sakura knew that it was now the time to strike. "Hinata-chan, what do you think of Naruto?"

Hinata gasped at the mention of his name and lost concentration. Sakura took the opportunity to try to sweep her off her feet but Hinata recovered quickly. She shook her thought furiously trying to gather her thoughts back to the battle at hand. "Sakura-chan! That's…that's…cheating…"

Sakura grinned evilly. "Why? I just asked you one question." She shrugged. "It shouldn't make a difference." She paused for effect. "Unless of course you have something to say about it."

Hinata blushed. It wasn't fair. Sakura knew her weakness and was using it against her.

"Go Hinata-chan!" From the sidelines, Hinata could hear Naruto cheer her on. This made her smile. Somehow hearing him behind her made her more confident now. "Hinata-chan, don't give up! Give your best!"

There were other voices too in the background. There was no mistaking the mocking voice of Uchiha Sasuke. "Haruno, you're going to get your butt kicked. Just give up already!"

Hinata thought it was rude of him to say such things but as she observed Sakura later on she saw that Sakura was easily stirred by his insults. She ground her teeth and obviously tried to fight for composure. Sakura-chan? Sasuke-kun? Why not?

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun likes you, doesn't he?"

Sakura who was doing a spinning kick, tripped and fell with a thud on the floor. "Hinata-chan, you did that on purpose!"

Hinata gave her a look of pure innocence. "Was it… something I… said, Sakura-chan?" She nodded towards the two boys watching them. "I was just asking a question." She began to kick at Sakura, while Sakura rolled to get away from the attacks.

Sakura grumbled. Hinata was using her own technique against her. "Smart," she thought. "I never thought that Hinata-chan would use it against me. I underestimated her." She jumped up to her feet and tried to hold on to Hinata's leg to make her immobile but it was going to take better than that to stop her.

"Is this…all… you can do, Sakura-chan?" Hinata jumped and kicked Sakura on the stomach. She did a back flip and landed on her feet like a feline.

Sakura clutched her middle painfully. Now she meant business. "Of course not! I'm just getting warmed up." She went back to position. "Watch me."

One moment Sakura was standing there and the next she disappeared in a blink of an eye. "She's fast!" She gasped before realizing that somehow Sakura ended up behind her. "Thank you." She returned Hinata's punch to her, not giving the surprised girl time to think.

Now it was an even fight. There was no sign of who might be the victor. The fighters were too evenly matched punch-by-punch and kick-by-kick. This was going to be a long and interesting fight. Their sensei was impressed. Very impressed by their performance and so was everybody around them. Even Uchiha Itachi was taking notes at least she thought he was making notes since he was busying himself with his notebook. It made her wonder what he was up to.

She had heard a lot of Haruno Sakura from old teachers and infamous reports. She was a good student but had a way of attracting attention. She wasn't very big on patience and tended to settle annoyances with a good beating. Mostly she was the victimizer. She always won.

She wanted to see this infamous troublemaker in action because she certainly didn't look the type. She looked the annoying "little Ms. Popular" type. Kurenai was surprised by her show of agility, strength and sportsmanship. She liked this girl already. No wonder Tsunade-sama recommended her…

* * *

**Tsubame: Wheeeee…** another cliffie! Now that it is vacation, I'm bored out of my mind! **AHHHhhhhhhhh! **Constructive Criticisms please! 

**Listening to: **A variety of cds from Naruto to Bleach to Kare Kano to AIR. As long as I have music, I can write! Since the music is so mixed up, I think the chapter came out a bit mixed up too! Whhhheeeeeee…

**Mood: **Happy! Happy! Genki! Genki! Happy! NaruHina fan for life! Yeah!

**Working on: **Chapter 9 of "Green IS the color of my eyes" and after this "Summer School" chapter 6


	6. Chapter 6

**Tsubame:** I really should get to the point, right? Oh well! SasuSaku here I come! Yehey! I wrote the last chapter because I didn't want the events of the story to go too fast. I like a slow and steady pace…I'm sorry to those who are disappointed in me. I don't do it on purpose it is just that I have my own pace. I like NaruHina but not as much as SasuSaku so please trust me on this. That is all I ask. Don't give up on me.

**Thanks to:** cinderella101, LiterateQuill, animemistress419, Koloro, Paprika012345, Lady-valasia, KonohaGIRL, bluflamez, kitsumi-chan, Blackphoniex, PINKSISA, Krista, Senseikkhehe, BWOLFY, Gaara-Chibi, edakumi-sama, ashwings101, Itachi's Poison, shamanic cherry, fRenZ4EveR, sacredairbga7, CrAzY-SiLLy-Me, SweetAssassin, saki-kun, 4ever2belove, MizzBlizz and itchinhi. Thank you very much for reviewing.

Actually I wasn't planning to make another love polygon or triangle thingie but due to public demand okay! I'll make one. –sigh- I hope you like it!

**sacredairbga7**I hope you are still reading this! Sorry for the wait but I bet this is the SasuSaku you'd be looking for! Hehe… Enjoy!

**Krista:** It is a relief that you won't really kill me. I'm too young to die! Hehe… thank you for the review! I'm glad you like the story so far. I try my best.

* * *

**Diclaimer:** I don't own Naruto! Only this fic! WhhheeeEEEE….

* * *

"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Uchiha Sasuke **

* * *

Everything about Uchiha Itachi bothered Sasuke. The thought have the same blood flowing in his veins sickened him. He tried to ignore his brother's presence entirely as he watched the two girls battle it on. His existence is just a small stain in his life and nothing will ever change that.

He remembered a time where he used to idolize his brother but now the thought of it sickened him. He'd rather forget what happened all those years ago and just move on. He wasn't even worth thinking about.

He enjoyed the little display of sportsmanship before him. Two women couldn't be more different. It was training vs. street smarts. Hyuuga Hinata had been training for as long as she could remember and has become one of the best but due to the over-protectiveness of her life she never really used it in real fighting experience. Haruno Sakura was different, totally different. She wasn't afraid to fight and has been protecting herself for years against all the evil in the world such as snatchers, robbers, bullies and etc. She'd been alone most of her life so it was no surprise that this girl had a lot of experience.

This was going to be fun…

* * *

He never noticed Tsunade-sensei enter. She was pleased with what she saw. Haruno Sakura, her little ward was fighting with one of the best fighters in school. From the smiling face on the girl's face, Tsunade could tell that she was enjoying herself. Sakura's parents were good friends of Tsunade. When they told her that they were going to leave the child with her, she almost refused.

She changed her mind one day on her way home from school. She saw Sakura surrounded with big-looking guys with motorcycles. It didn't look like a fair fight. It was five against one. Strangely though she didn't look at all afraid. She looked annoyed.

Tsunade didn't know what to make of this girl. Sakura was carrying a large stack of books, wearing an all-girl-school private uniform and her askew. Her looks simply cried out nerd. Suddenly, Sakura calmly put down her books and advised the riders to leave her alone and that she wasn't in the mood. The teacher groaned, knowing that this kid was just looking for trouble.

The bikers laughed continued to harass her. Sakura shook her head sadly and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Minutes later the bikers lay on the floor in a heap.

After that, she simply picked up her books and went along her way. She was completely oblivious to the teacher watching her in both disbelief and amazement.

She watched the boy call Uchiha Sasuke. She knew his reputation very well. Tsunade didn't like it one bit. He was watching Sakura with interest and amusement, which didn't suit Tsunade well. He was going to have to go through her if she wanted to get anywhere near Sakura.

Tsunade was just going to inform him the basic rules of keeping his distance.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't help it. Each move she made was a temptation. He wanted to fight her. He wanted a chance to dance this dance with her. He wanted to see her fall…

He heard Hinata scream. Sakura made another hit. Hinata fought back with a flying kick and sent Sakura flying to some distance. The two of them were congratulating each other for a good fight. Hinata then said that she would win, while Sakura said otherwise.

"This battle is mine!" Sakura declared. The two combatants fought it out. The two of them were getting tired by the minute. He couldn't take it just watching.

He suddenly stood up. He didn't care that he was interrupting a battle. "Kurenai-sensei! Please…let me fight her!"

Naruto protested. "Sasuke! Are you mad? You can't fight Hinata!" Naruto grabbed his friend by the collar. "I'll kill you first."

Sasuke shrugged. "Whoever said I wanted to fight Hinata?" He pointed to Sakura. Her eyes widen in surprise. "I want to fight her. How about it, Sakura? Unless of course you're afraid, then I'll totally understand."

Hinata, who was fighting Sakura a moment ago, was now trying to restrain her from attacking the boy. "Sakura-chan, calm yourself." She did not look very upset that their battle was interrupted. They could continue that later but next time she'd win. Right now, preventing Sakura from committing murder was more important.

"Let me kill him! Kurenai-sensei! I will fight him!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm going to murder him!"

Kurenai-sensei was shocked. It was unusual for Sasuke to actually request for a fight. Fights usually come to him and he certainly had enough to go around everyday. She nodded and gave them her permission. She was going to be on the look out though just in case Sakura wanted to really draw out blood.

The calm Hinata took the wild Sakura aside and talked to her. Nobody really knew what Hinata told her but by the time their talk was over Sakura was smiling and calm.

Sasuke and Naruto were another matter…

"Are you nuts?" Naruto paced back and forth in front of him wondering if his friend truly went out of his mind to got through with this challenge. "Why would you go and challenge Sakura-chan? You know she is not as good as you!"

Sasuke simply yawned and shrugged. "I have my reasons."

"Are you going to tell me what these _reasons _are?"

"No."

The blonde groaned. "You're out of your mind, you know?" He folded his arms and watched the two girls across the fighting mat. "Sakura-chan might be serious about killing you."

The dark-haired boy grinned. "I certainly hope so." Naruto's jaws dropped. "Wouldn't that be more of a challenge then?" He walked towards the mat and left a startle Naruto on the sides.

Sakura joined him at the mat. "Are you ready to die, Uchiha?" She flexed her fingers and joints. "I'm definitely not going to go easy on you."

"Try to kill me, if you can, Sakura." He slowly removed his jacket and then tossed it to Naruto. The blonde grumbled something about a bratty jerk. Sasuke smirked and took position. "Why don't we make this a bit more interesting?"

Sakura took the first punch, which Sasuke caught reflexively. "Why not?" She said. "What do you have in mind?" She twisted his arm and tried to flip him but he retaliated by grabbing her arm and mirroring her move. Fortunately, Sakura was better than that. She kneed him on the stomach. He loosened his grip and it gave Sakura a chance to get away.

Sasuke rubbed the sore spot where she kicked him but she was surprised that he was grinning. "Interesting," he drawled. "Now how about we make a little bet?"

"A bet?" She slid under him trying to sweep his feet. Sasuke jumped back. She missed. "What kind of bet?"

"If you win, I'll do whatever you say for a whole month." Sasuke stepped back trying to avoid her series of kicks. It annoyed Sakura that he was only being defensive. He wasn't trying very hard to fight her at all. "Even do all your homework."

"Okay." She finally hit him again on the stomach. He fell back but was up on his feet almost immediately. "What if you win?" She almost smirked. It doesn't seem like Uchiha was much of a fighter.

"I won't ask for much," he said.

"What is it?"

"If I win, I get a kiss…"

"What?" She made a misstep and tripped. He looked up at him with shock and suspicion. "What kind of girl do you think I am!" She stood up and began to walk away. "No way, Uchiha. You can forget it!"

"Are you that afraid that I'll win, Sakura?" Sasuke made the tsk- tsk sound as he shook his head. "I thought you were better than to turn down a challenge."

Sakura froze and turned to him. "Me? Afraid of you?" She laughed. "In your dreams! Let's do this!" she returned to position. "You're going down!"

Sasuke smiled. "That's what I've been wanting to hear." Before Sakura could even blink, Sasuke disappeared.

"He's fast!" she realized. "What was that earlier? Was he just faking?"

"Over here, Sakura!"

She turned. Sasuke was there. "How?" She demanded. "How did you move so fast?"

Sasuke smirked and began his attack. Too bad for Sakura that she didn't know that he studied Taijutsu under Kakashi-sensei with Naruto for years. She never stood a chance.

"You think you're so good, Uchiha?" She fought back trying to match his skill. She couldn't even fight back. Her defenses were failing her. He was too quick, too strong and too skilled.

"I'm not going to let you win!" She tried to kick his face but he ducked. He grabbed her leg and made her immobile. She tried to use her other leg but Sasuke was already one step ahead of her. He calmly placed his hand on her throat and squeezed lightly. "Game over," he whispered. Her eyes widen in surprise.

"Bu---bu---but---" she stuttered.

"What?" He folded his arms.

"You made that bet with me under false pretenses!" she accused. "You…cheater!"

"Just because I didn't show you how good I am earlier, doesn't mean I cheated." He shrugged. "That is called strategy, my dear. I was just waiting for the right moment."

"Why you---" She tried to punch him but he dodged her each time with the ease of a jungle cat. He was chuckling the whole time.

"Too late, Sakura." He caught her hand, which was flying towards his face and pulled her towards him. "I win…"

He pulled her towards him and covered her lips with his before she could event begin to protest. Her eyes were wide and her whole body froze. She couldn't believe that this was happening.

The whole room grew silent. Nobody knew how to react. Uchiha Sasuke was usually very private with his relationships and there he was practically flaunting his relationship with Haruno Sakura. Wait…were they even having a relationship? After a while, Sasuke pulled away. Sakura just stared at him and was torn between hitting him and killing him. Then whispering began.

"_They're going together?"_

"_Isn't she new girl?"_

"_What is going on here? How do they know each other?"_

Sasuke pretended to not notice them around them but Sakura certainly did. She felt humiliated. She wanted to keep a low profile in this school and thanks to this…Uchiha Sasuke that won't be happening for a long time.

"I hate you," she whispered.

Sasuke nodded. "Good. Hate is the closes feeling to love, my cherry blossom, never forget that."

She pushed him away, disgusted. Sasuke shrugged and walked away. He didn't care. He was planning to leave anyway.

"Naruto, let's go. Kakashi-sensei wants to speak to us about something."

Naruto nodded and followed him. He wasn't sure what just happened and he certainly planned to talk to Sasuke about that. Before they left, they bowed respectfully to Kurenai-sensei, who was just as puzzled about what had just happened.

On the way out, Sasuke passed his brother. Itachi was watching Sasuke as he passed. So, this was the Haruno Sakura his brother had been talking about with his friend, Uzumaki.

He inspected the girl head to foot. She certainly looked lovely. Soft-looking bubblegum pink hair and sea-foam green eyes weren't his brother's usual types. He usually went for blondes. Itachi could only conclude that there had to be something special about this girl to make Sasuke pay such _special_ attention to her.

He was curious now. He wanted to know more about his brother's current interest.

* * *

Sasuke touched his lips. He kissed her. He really kissed her on those sweet-looking, pink lips. He couldn't believe that he really did that. He closed his eyes and almost groaned at himself. It seemed like a good idea at that time. Those lips certainly tasted as sweet as they looked.

"Oi, Sasuke." Naruto followed his pace. He was looking straight with his hands in his pockets and his face serious. "What just happened in there?"

"You saw." He wasn't in the mood to explain himself to Naruto. He wanted to do it. That was already enough of an explanation. He never hesitated to do what he wanted even if he was going to regret it afterwards. "Need I expound?"

"You kissed her."

"So?"

"So what was that all about?" Naruto demanded. "You don't usually act like that, Uchiha. You know better."

He shrugged and kept walking. Naruto knew he wasn't going to get an explanation now and kept quiet. Sasuke was stubborn. Naruto knew that much so he wasn't about to waste his breath. They reached the principal's office in silence. They didn't know what their sensei wanted but he said that it was urgent. It better not be the "clean the bathrooms after class" thing like the last time. Sasuke swore he'd just kill him.

They entered the office. It was empty. Shizune-sensei should have a class to teach around that time and as expected, the Kakashi-sensei was late again. Naruto rolled his eyes. Why in the world did they decide to come on time when they knew very well that he was going to be late again?

Sasuke just sat patiently on the sofa provided, while Naruto ran towards the principal's desk. The chair was the kind that rotated. Naruto began to play with the desk like rotated the chair around and around, pretended to be principal and tried to act like Kakashi and making fun of him in everyway he knew how. Meanwhile, Sasuke just watched the boy in disgust. He was acting like his old immature self again. Naruto was just looking for trouble.

One hour later, the teacher still wasn't there. Sasuke wasn't really keen on patience and Naruto was getting more and more bored. He tried doing many strange things to keep himself occupied. In other words, annoying Sasuke more and more and tempting him to just murder the blonde.

He was about to go for the kill, when suddenly the door opened. A late Hatake Kakashi entered and carrying a few folders containing what looked like their applications and files.

"Gomen!" The sensei chuckled. "An old lady was in trouble crossing the street and I stopped to help her. Then a mob of girls stopped me and asked for my autograph. That took the most time. There were a lot of them."

"Oh really?" Naruto grumbled, not believing him. Sasuke and him were already used to Kakashi-sensei's lies. Kakashi was never on time for anything.

"Get to the point, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke yawned. He wanted this over with. "What did you bring us here for?"

"Hmmm…" Kakashi-sensei walked towards his desk and nudged Naruto to get off. Nervously, Naruto walked off and sat on the sofa beside Sasuke. Kakshi's face was the vision of solemnity. "I called you here in a matter of great importance. Do you understand?"

The two boys too grew solemn. Whatever it was had to be very big.

But Kakashi's face suddenly broke into a wide grin. "But first! Let's meet your third teammate!" He called to the door. "Ne, Sakura-chan! Come in!"

Suddenly, a struggling Sakura being pushed by Kurenai-sensei entered.

"No way! I'm never going to work with him! There is no force on earth that can make me do something that idiotic!" Sakura was screaming. "I refuse."

Kurenai-sensei wasn't listening and smiled politely to Kakashi-sensei. "Hello, Kakashi-sensei. I brought the last member of team 7."

"Team what?" The three teens chorused.

The principal ignored them. "Ah! Thank you, Kurenai-sensei. It was much appreciated."

Kurenai-sensei gave one last push to Sakura. Pushing her to one of the sofas and as quickly as she came disappeared behind the door.

"Would you mind telling me what is going on here, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura demanded. "Why in the world did you suddenly call me in the middle of class!"

The silver-haired teacher gave her a look of innocence. "You were in the middle of something, Sakura-chan? I had no idea."

"Get to the point."

The teacher coughed and became solemn again. "The Regional Sports fest is coming up and I've gathered people to represent our school." He looked up to see the teens listening. They were annoyed but listening, so he continued. "I made teams of three and for the next month they will be under a teacher for their training. You three are team 7. Am I making sense so far?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I'm not bored yet."

"So who are we under?" Naruto asked. He hoped it was somebody cool.

Kakashi grinned again and pointed to himself. "Me!"

"What!"

* * *

Sasuke was burning up by the time he got out of the office. For the next month he was going to be under one of the most infuriating teachers of the decade. On the bright side, he'd be working with Haruno Sakura so it wouldn't be a total lost.

He looked at the time. It was late and he should be getting home

"Mr. Uchiha?"

He was surprised to see Tsunade-sensei, his Math teacher. She was looking at him angrily. He couldn't understand why. He wasn't one of the roughnecks in her class. Actually he was one of her best students. Naruto was one of those roughnecks but she seemed very fond of him.

"Tsunade-sensei." He bowed politely.

"May I speak with you for a few minutes, Mr. Uchiha?"

"Hai." He followed her to her classroom. Tsunade –sensei will teach night classes after the little talk so she didn't have much time.

"Mr. Uchiha, how do you feel about Haruno Sakura?"

The question took him by surprise. He never expected Tsunade-sensei to ask that question. "What? Why do you ask that question, sensei?"

Tsunade-senei folded her arms sternly. "Did you know that Ms. Haruno is under my care?"

Sasuke's jaw dropped. He didn't know what to make of it. He knew Sakura's parents were not around but he certainly wasn't expecting her to be one of his teacher's care. "Tsunade-sensei, what are you saying?"

"I will get straight to the point, Mr. Uchiha." Tsunade's brows creased. "Whatever you have planned for Ms. Haruno I warn you not to hurt her." She sat on her desk and crossed her legs. "If you ever hurt her in anyway or even make her cry, I won't hesitate to send you to summer school…"

* * *

**Tsubame:** Tadah! Another chapter of Summer School! Yehay! I hope the story makes sense now! WHHhhheeeeEEEE… I hope you like this new chapter! I tried my best. Poor Sasuke…I feel sorry for him. HAHA…Summer School! **Constructive Criticisms** please!

**Visit my new livejournal please! W w w . t s u b a m e o n g a k u . l I v e j o u r n a l . c o m …hehehe…**

**Listening to:** Naruto CD

**Mood:** Lazy…I almost decided to delay the chapter. I felt too lazy to type or think or do anything. I want to sleep…zzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzz…

**Working on: **A lot…


	7. Chapter 7

**Tsubame:** I'm so glad that some people still like this fic! Here is another chapter of "Summer School." Forgive me please! I had an overdose on Detective Conan, so I couldn't help it! Hehehe…I hope you enjoy the chapter though! Hone your detective skills with this chapter…I wanted to make my story different from other fics…I hope with this chapter, it worked…

May I ask something? The number of my reviews is going down. Am I doing something wrong? Has this fic gone down? I'm just wondering. TT

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This chapter is dedicated to Itchinhi. Thank you for being my friend…that is the most beautiful gift of all…

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**I would also like to thank: **animelover21065, Galastria57, Falling in my own Darkness, white-rosekiss, Sanguine Dreams, Monomaniacal, sacredairbga7, blackphoenix, lynah2005, animegirl9000, Sasuke'sgrl13, els1324, animemistress419, CrAzY-SiLLy-Me, saki-kun, otakualways, Freedome Fighter, Natsuhiboshi, Akkirako Chikuro, Trunksmybaby, Blizzie-chan, 4ever2belove, Heartless Ghost, SweetAssassin, BWOLFY, Kawaii-Chibi-Naruto andPaprika012345…:)

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**Disclaimer:** I have no ownership over Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own any of its characters either.

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"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Uchiha Itachi **

* * *

Uchiha Itachi was an observer. He liked to think that he knew anything about everything. He was intrigued when he found out that his little brother had a new toy. What made this girl so special? He wanted to know. He has been observing her for three days and he hadn't gathered much data on her. 

Haruno Sakura seemed like any other girl to him. Her parents were overseas for work, she lives with Tsunade-sensei, she hung around with normal people like Hyuuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino and Tenten. Miss Sakura didn't stand out unless she fought in battle, then she was a tiger.

"Is that all you can tell me about her?" Itachi drawled smoothly as he spoke to a frightened lower freshman. He had his arms crossed and he was frowning. He was both intimidating and a delicious to look at. His long hair arranged in a ponytail, dressed in jeans, white shirt and leather jacket; his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir," came the reply. That is all I can find out from looking through her school records. "So far, we know that her slate is clean as a whistle." The poor victim trembled. "I'm the class secretary! I have to stop doing this, Itachi-sama! It is wrong. My classmates trust me!"

Itachi smirked. "You will lose more than your job next time if you don't do what I say."

The boy trembled and nodded.

"Now, get out of my sight!" He yelled. The boy never thought twice, before Itachi knew it, the boy was running for his life as fast as he could towards the direction of the exit. He was gone before Itachi could even blink.

"Useless fool," he mumbled before finally going to his next class. As Kurenai-sensei's assistant, he was supposed to help her setup for her class that afternoon. Itachi didn't know why he was even doing this. He didn't even need to work. He was loaded.

He suddenly yawned, and then he remembered that he was bored. His mind returned to the memory of the pink-haired girl. She proved to be interesting. He hoped that she wouldn't disappoint him. He didn't like it when he was disappointed.

* * *

Sakura angrily slammed the door of her locker shut. "The nerve of him!" she thought violently. "Who does he think he is!" Uchiha Sasuke was the only thing in this school that kept her from truly enjoying herself in the institute. 

She was enjoying getting know her classmates. She was busy of course with all the activities she planned to do. The sudden load that Kakashi-sensei dropped on her lap was going to mess up her schedule a bit. She was going to have to forget about joining the cheerleading squad for a while and the Science Club. She wasn't very sorry about the Science Club though. She never really wanted to join. It was only because Tsunade-sense really wanted her to join.

She wasn't sorry about Cheerleading too. She wasn't crazy about the idea of jumping around and cheering for a team she was not familiar with and people she didn't even know.

The sports fest was keeping her very busy, she realized that and even though she had no responsibility for this school she was going to have to do what Kakashi-sensei asked. She'd spent the whole month training with Sasuke and Naruto and she was going nowhere with Sasuke. He annoyed her and distracted her from doing the exercises.

Kakashi-sensei didn't look angry but with his masked face you couldn't really tell. It was obvious though that the lack of teamwork bothered him. He had so much to work with and had such little time. Sakura and Naruto were working together pretty well. The real challenge was Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura declared that he could never work with such an egotistic, barbaric, conceited pretty boy and Sasuke said that he couldn't work with Sakura…period.

The first day of the sports fest starts tomorrow and Sakura felt stressed out. She had another argument with Sasuke again. They were arguing about who was going to be the first to fight Martial Arts challenge. Usually every year, the Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata took care of it but they were going to be busy with the National Karate competition to compete in the sports fest. This year, they're just going to have to watch the festivities.

Sakura wanted to go first but Sasuke wanted to go first. Sasuke didn't look like he cared though. Sakura concluded that he was just arguing with her to annoy her.

"Curse, that Uchiha! I hope that he drops dead!"

"Which Uchiha do you mean, little girl?"

Her eyes widen as she turned around. Her cheeks turned to a bright red when she saw that it was Uchiha Itachi. She cursed herself. Why didn't she realize that she had said that out loud? Itachi was looking at her with a very bored expression and seemed to be waiting for her reply. "Itachi-san! Sumimasen! I didn't know that you were back there." she bowed respectfully.

Itachi didn't say anything for a while but then shrugged. "You just walked pass me and suddenly curse an Uchiha. It could mean me, you know. What have I done to you?"

She began shaking her head and waving her arms in front of her. "Itachi-san, you got it all wrong! I didn't mean you. I mean it was…it was…"

"…my brother." He finished for her. His face was unreadable and betrayed no emotion. A faint pink blush betrayed Sakura's though. Itachi smirked. "You don't need to hide it, little girl. I know…" He walked towards her, not breaking eye contact.

"Ummm…I'm really sorry. I really---" she wasn't able to finish what she wanted to say.

Itachi took her face in his hand and stared at her face for moment, shocking Sakura. Her heart raced faster and faster as his face came closer and closer to her. She froze, unable to move from the shock. She thought for sure that he was going to kiss her.

But then suddenly pulled away. "What is it about you?" he murmured. "You're nothing special at all…"

Sakura's eyes changed from shocked to outrage in a second. "Nothing special? What makes you so special the, jerk?"

He shrugged. "I'm an Uchiha…" Then he stepped back and walked pass her, not looking back.

Sakura stared angrily at the Uchiha's back. "Are all Uchihas such morons?" she thought.

Itachi knew without turning that the girl was glaring at him. She was drilling holes through his back with her eyes. He didn't care. This was only the beginning of his observation…

* * *

Weeks had past, it was the week of the Sports fest. Sasuke glanced at his watch for the tenth time for the last five minutes. Sakura was supposed to arrive minutes ago. Was she having difficulty in her challenge? Did the match go on overtime? 

"She's fine, Uchiha," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "I swear. You worry too much." He didn't need to look at his watch. She was only late for five minutes. Something must be keeping her, that's all.

Sasuke wasn't too convinced. The girl was tardy and tardiness was unacceptable. "Isn't Hyuuga Hinata coming?" Sasuke asked Naruto, out of the blue. "Where is she?"

Naruto shrugged, and began looking around. "I heard from that Baka-cousin of hers that they're going to be late." It was his turn to keep looking at his watch. "They have to pick somebody up."

Sasuke spotted Hinata's familiar long, long hair some distance away from them. It looked like she was headed towards the stage. "Oi, Naruto. Isn't that her over there?" He pointed to her. "What is she doing without her 'shadow'?" By 'shadow,' meaning Hyuuga Neji of course.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. It's strange. Why is she heading for the stage? I'll go ask. " He began running towards her. "Hinata-chan! Oi, Hinata-chan!" The person did not stop but just kept walking away.

Being a fast runner, Naruto finally caught up. "Hinata-chan? Why didn't you stop?" Naruto whined. "I've been calling you…"

"Excuse me? Do I know you?" came the reply.

Naruto saw a closer look at the long- haired woman and realized that this was certainly NOT Hyuuga Hinata. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, blushing furiously at his mistake. "I thought you were someone else." From behind, it was only natural to mistake her for Hinata. They had the same length and color of hair but that was about it. Up front, the other woman had pouty lips and arrogant eyes. Her very aura screamed spoiled.

While Naruto was busy mumbling to himself about embarrassing himself yet again, the woman was looking at him up and down. She smiled, it seemed like she liked what she saw. "That's fine." She was flirting openly. "My name is Torii. What is yours?"

"I'm sorry," the _dense _Naruto apologized. Why he didn't notice that it was an open flirtation is beyond me. "I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Why don't you make it up to me by asking me out to dinner after the festivities," she purred, batting her eyelashes.

He was about to agree, when he suddenly spotted the two long- haired and pearly-eyed cousins and another girl with dark green hair walking towards the agreed meeting spot under the banner, **_"Sports fest"_**. For some reason Sasuke disappeared but he'll think about that later. Most likely his friend was looking for Sakura-chan. Naruto answered the flirting girl, "I'm sorry but I'm going to be with someone else."

Naruto walked towards the three. The woman frowned and gave a, "hmmph…men are sometimes so idiotic."

"Would you just stop being such a flirt, Torii?" the lovely woman just behind her scolded. "You have to concentrate on tonight's performance."

The woman named Torii laughed. "Don't worry, Suzuki. I have this gig in the bag with this song." This woman was Uta Torii. She was a very popular singer from Cloud High. She was the type of girl that was in dire need of an attitude adjustment. Ahe was haughty, overconfident and wicked. She was going to be a musical guest for that night's performance.

Suzuki Aya, Torii's manager of two years. She was barely a year older than Torii and Torii's "best friend." She was Torii's shadow and was the type of girl that didn't stand out. She wore long skirts and long- sleeved blouses, glasses and braces. How she became Torii's friend puzzled most people. Aya bit her lip, nervously. "Torii-chan, are you sure you want to go on with this? It is wrong…"

"Will you just chill?" Torii rolled her eyes, visibly annoyed. "What could happen?"

"But don't you think…"

"Leave the thinking to those who actually think, Suzuki," The singer snapped. "Do you want me to fire you?" This silenced any more protests from Aya.

"That is such a dangerous threat." An arm suddenly went around Torii's shoulders. "But I say you're only full of hot air."

She shrugged the arm off her shoulders. "What makes you say that exactly, Hanabishi?" she demanded.

Hanabishi Makoto, Torii's ex-boyfriend, blonde, blue-eyed and very handsome. It was a known fact that she had a weakness for blondes. She broke up with him only a few days ago, after cheating on him for one of her back-up singers. He grinned. "Because you need her…"

Torii snorted. "I have no intention of listening to you," she laughed, menacingly. "You're just jealous. Get over it. We're over."

She walked away, he watched her leave with an angry look on his handsome face.

* * *

Sakura ran all the way to the agreed meeting place, praying that they didn't decide to leave her. She was late because she ran into Tsunade-sensei and she gave her about a dozen books for her to read about medicine. She had to drop them off at her locker before meeting them. 

She was in time to overhear the conversation between the three teens. She overheard their names. There were two girls named, Torii and Suzuki and a boy named, Hanabishi. Sakura wasn't usually nosy but there was something about the three that spelled Trouble with a capital T.

"You heard them too, huh?"

She turned and was surprised to find Sasuke looking at those people with the same curious look too. She shrugged and pretended to be indifferent.

"They're talking about this girl Torii," he said. "She seems like the type of girl that just invites trouble." He took her hand and dragged her away. "Let's go. Everybody's waiting."

She tried pulling her hand from his grasp but his grip was vise. "Would you mind letting go of me?" she snapped. "What are you doing here anyway?"

He stopped but did not turn to look at her. "I came looking for you," he replied. "I was worried about you…"

Sakura was taken aback. He was worried about her? He was really worried about her? She could not help but think it was sweet of him to be worried about her. No boy had ever done that for her before. But worrying about her was not enough for her to forgive him though.

When they arrived, only Naruto was there. Neji, Hinata and their cousin already went inside to save them some seats. As a treat for and to promote inter-school ties, they arranged for musical performances for each school. Then they decided to turn it into a contest. The song must be original and no revivals. It was to make it a bit more challenging and to discover good musical talents.

They were introduced to the Hyuuga's cousin, Hyuuga Yukino. She was a quiet girl, even quieter than Hinata. At least Hinata talked more now. She had the lovely Hyuuga eyes but had shoulder-length hair of dark green.

For Konoha High, representative is surprisingly, Nara Shikamaru. When he was chosen, there was uproar at first. That lazy guy can sing? But they haven't heard him rap. His entry was called the _"Naruto Ondo." _Naruto had helped Shikamaru make it and it was a hit. It mentioned the whole gang and more. It was really something original…

The next was Yakushi Kabuto from Sound High. He sent hearts and temperatures rising and with his song, _"Setsunakutemo Zutto."_

The next who sang was from Cloud High. Naruto's eyes bulged. "I know that girl!" he told the group. Sasuke didn't say anything because he did too. It was Uta Torii. The girl from before…she was now on stage and dressed in a very flashy outfit of silver.

"Good Afternoon, everybody!" she screamed into the mic. "I'm Torii from Cloud High and this is my song… _Poisoned Lady_."

It was a rock song that had gotten everybody dancing. It turned out that Torii was a popular favorite and was some people said that she'd win. She was flashy…no other world could describe her. She kept on doing complicated moves, swaying her hips and flipping her hair. Beautiful, oozed with confidence and talented, that was Uta Torii.

The song was about a good lady turned bad. Poisoned by the evil of the world like jealousy, deceit and temptation.

Even Sasuke had to admit that she wasn't bad. He turned to Hinata to ask her how it was so far but Hinata was not paying attention. She was too busy staring with a shocked look on her face. Slowly the color from her face drained.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" He asked her. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

She shook her head and gave him a nervous smile. "I---I---I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm just…" she didn't finish her reply. Instead she stared at the sides of a stagr. It was as if she was looking for someone.

Sasuke observed her…observed her carefully. He looked over to the pink haired girl a few meters away. He frowned. Sakura was observing the young heiress's actions too. There was definitely something wrong.

The song continued and the fans were jumping up and down and cheering for the young singer. Until finally, she gave one last twirl and ended the song…

As the people watched and cheered that night, as Torii sang that song of the poisoned lady, nobody could have foreseen that this would be young Torii's _last _song. Not even the murderer himself…

As the applause died down, Torii walked to the sides of the stage and threw a smug look at the next performer. The girl looked at Torii and had a blank look on her face. The girl was pretty but not striking. Shoulder-length brown hair and very deep black eyes, the girl looks kind of average.

Sasuke did not expect much from the girl. He borrowed a program from the person in front of him and searched for the performer's name. _"Ongaku Tsubasa – Sora High" _

"She's a newbie from Sora," Hinata whispered. "She's a very good friend of mine."

Sasuke never forgot her strange behavior earlier but thought that maybe it would be better if he asked the questions later. "Is she any good?"

"See for yourself."

Suddenly, the girl's blank look transformed into a dazzling smile and waved to the crowd. "Is everybody having a good time?" she shouted, gaily. The crowd responded with cheer of their own. She giggled and joined the cheer. "Then, listen to my song, _How could you?_"

"_How could you?" _had turned out to be a pop song. It was a song about betrayal and how dangerous it was now to trust anyone in this world. The song was lively and bouncy but the lyrics were written in anger Sasuke observed. Whoever wrote it was angry at that time.

Tsubasa was not a bad dancer either and did her own twirls and spins as she laughed and sang. As Sasuke watched, he couldn't help but get the feeling of déjà vu. Her moves were somehow familiar. He shrugged it off. It was probably just his imagination.

She gave a spin and with one hand raised to the sky, she sang the last line…

"…_Because only fools believe your true lies…"_

The crowd jumped up and down and cheered, screaming her name and throwing flowers. She gave one last bow to the audience and exited the stage. The host reappeared on stage and announced that the winners would be announced later that evening.

For the first time, Hinata looked excited about something. She was smiling and held Naruto 's hand firmly. "Come on, we have to go meet her. Tsubasa-chan did well tonight."

"Hinata-chan, wouldn't you like it better, if we ate first?" Yukino asked. "There are a lot of interesting stored to choose from."

Hinata shook her head. "No thank you, Yukino-chan. I'm not that hungry yet anyway." She looked diverted her attention back to the others. Her look and smile begging them, pleading them to go with her. "Please. It won't take long."

Naruto smiled, boyishly and nodded. "Sure, I want to meet this singer. She did great. But I think that that other song was a tad little better though." Hinata froze and smiled sadly now but said nothing just continued to go towards the singer, who was currently being congratulated by her admirers.

"That was incredible," one squealed. "I can't believe you really wrote that song."

Tsubasa laughed. "Yes, that song was so last minute. I only wrote it earlier this afternoon," she shrugged. "I'm just glad it didn't come out a disaster."

"Why?" another asked. "I heard that there was a song that you've been working on for the whole week."

"It didn't come out like I expected," she replied. She saw them coming towards her. "Excuse me, I have to go speak to a friend now. Thank you all very much."

Sasuke observed the two girls. They hugged each other like friends who had not seen each other for decades.

"Hinata-chan, I'm so glad you're here!" Tsubasa was jumping up and down, while hugging Hinata. "I haven't seen you in a long time!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Tsubasa-chan." She was getting uncomfortable with Tsubasa's hug and tried to keep up with her bouncy mood. "By the way…" Hinata tried to get out of her tight hug. "These are my friends. Uzumaki Naruto, my best friend's boyfriend." She blushed while saying this. "Haruno Sakura-chan, my classmate. Uchiha Sasuke, he's one of my classmates too and my two cousins. These are Neji-kun and Yukino-chan."

Tsubasa bowed respectfully. "Hello, nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too," Sakura replied. "That song was great!"

"Thanks."

"But…I was just wondering, Tsubasa-chan." Hinata was fiddling her hair nervously again. "I never heard that song on that CD you sent me of your new tracks. Was that new?"

She nodded. "Very new. I just made it this afternoon and I had five hours to get it ready."

"But what happened to---" before Hinata could finish, Tsubasa covered her mouth to quiet her.

"Shhh…" was all she said. As if she understood, Hinata nodded and Tsubasa removed her hands. There was no mistaking the strange behaviors now.

"Wow, is that always how you write?" Sakura asked, bring them out of the awkward atmosphere.

"Not really. I just write when the inspiration strikes me," She winked to them. "And believe me an inspiration really struck me earlier."

"Ha! But will it really be enough for you to win?" a voice scoffed.

Tsubasa frowned. She knew that voice anywhere. "Torii, what can I do for you?"

Torii flipped her hair and folded her arms. "Do you think you'll win with that pathetic excuse of a song?" she snortred. "Please don't make me laugh."

"We'll just see when we get the results, huh?" Tsubasa replied, with as much acid as she could. "You have not won yet."

"Hmmph, I will win." There was finality in her answer. "MY song rocked."

Tsubasa looked like she was about to attack but instead she took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, I know that song rocked." She reached out for the popcorn on the snack table offered to the performers. "Do you want one?" she asked, while taking a handful herself.

Torii took a handful and popped them into her mouth. "It must hurt to know that you're about to lose."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Torii."

Then something happened. Torii's eyes became as wide as saucers and held her throat as if something was choking her. "What is happening to m---" she choked but wasn't able to finish. Suddenly, Uta Torii, star singer of Cloud High fell to the floor…

…dead…

* * *

"Have you heard?" one student whispered to her friend. "I heard that somebody murdered that singer, Uta Torii." 

"Are you kidding me?" the companion gasped. She was always eager to hear the latest gossips and gossip about one of the most popular performers in the show was juicy. "Who did it?"

The first girl shrugged. "They still don't know but so far they had three suspects." She counted down, "First, the manager, Suzuki Aya. Torii had threatened to fire her and they had a little argument about her performance of something. Then comes her ex-boyfriend, Hanabishi Makoto. She broke up with him for her back-up singer just last week and he's the possessive type."

"I bet he did it!" The second girl declared, flipping her hair. "Jealous ex-boyfriends is like so obvious…"

The first shook her head. "We can't be sure. I heard that that other singer is the prime suspect."

"Why?"

Before she replied, the girl looked around to see if anyone was listening. "I heard she was the one who gave Torii the popcorn, which was said to have poison." She suddenly sighed. "But don't worry. Sasuke-kun is on the case! He'll catch the crook in no time."

"How about the pink-haired girly-girl, who's always around him?" The second girl scoffed.

The answer was a shrug then, "I heard she was doing her own investigation but she can't compete with Sasuke-kun. He'll solve the case first. I just know it!"

From a safe distance hidden behind some lockers, Itachi watched the two lovestruck girls with disgust. He usually got his information this way. Girls like them were always too busy spreading the word to look around them.

So, the two had found themselves a challenge. Interesting…

His brother Sasuke was logic and critical thinking. With his photographic memory, he can piece two and two together. He'd solve cases before, though they were not for murder. Some cases of plagiarism, theft and vandalism. This was a first to him. Tsunade-sensei gave him permission to begin investigating immediately.

Haruno Sakura, Itachi had great confidence in her. Though he would never admit it. She would actually be stiff competition for his little brother. There had to be more to Haruno than that if Tsunade-sensei was allowing her to join the investigation.

It would be interesting to see…who wins…

* * *

**Notes:**

Ongaku Tsubasa is not me…I am not trying to make myself seem Mary Sue. It is just that the names of Torii and Tsubasa had something to do with birds and music, so I lent my last name to this character. :P

Reasons why these are the representatives? Mourikubo and Kanna Nobutoshi are a two of my fave singers.

Sora means, "Sky" but I didn't want to name it Sky High. shivers that is scary...Sora sounds better...

**Disclaimer for songs:** I do not own Naruto Ondo and Setsunakutemo Zutto. I just needed them for this chapter… Test your skills and tell me your answers. Who killed the superstar?


	8. Chapter 8

**Tsubame:** WhhheeeeEEE… catching the Detective Conan bug was not a mistake. In this chapter, I will give you guys more clues to who the killer is. BTW, I changed something in the last chapter… I changed Itachi and Sakura's first meeting. Due to public demand, I wrote it. I hope you don't mind the slight changes…

**Notes:** I want to remind my readers that Tsubasa didn't eat the popcorn. She took some but didn't eat. I just want to remind you guys… you are free to change your answer if you want.

Sorry for the late update. I'm very busy. My schedule is killing me… I will try to update as fast as possible but please be patient. I can only do so much…. I hope you like this new chapter…

* * *

**I want to thank you all so much for encouraging me to write this fic. It really means a lot to me. **

* * *

**Diclaimer:** I have no ownership over Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own any of its characters either.

* * *

"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Uchiha Sasuke **

* * *

Last time… 

_Tsubasa looked like she was about to attack but instead she took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes, I know that song rocked." She reached out for the popcorn on the snack table offered to the performers. "Do you want one?" she asked, while taking a handful herself._

_Torii took a handful and popped them into her mouth. "It must hurt to know that you're about to lose."_

"_Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Torii." _

_Then something happened. Torii's eyes became as wide as saucers and held her throat as if something was choking her. "What is happening to m---" she choked but wasn't able to finish. Suddenly, Torii Uta, star singer of Cloud High fell to the floor…_

…_dead… _

* * *

Everything had to be taken into account. It is important in every investigation. His current investigation was no different. This was his first time to investigate a murder. He was not pleased. He was far from pleased. It made him sick that a human being would kill another fellow human being. What were people thinking these days? 

Is murder something pleasurable all of a sudden?

"She's dead," Sakura whispered as shook her head and trying to look calm and composed as possible. It was important not to panic the other students.

She and Sasuke had already got out most of the students. Only a handful of people were left. Some teachers, a few stage crewmembers, "Team 7", Hinata and the rounded up _suspects_. "Potassium cyanide. I can smell it all over her hands." Sakura took out the medical gloves that she was saving for her Biology class and put them on. She tossed another towards Sasuke.

"Are you sure, Sakura?" Sasuke asked her, grimly, while putting on the medical gloves. He looked at the singer's pale, stiff body lying on the floor. "This can only mean one thing, you know."

Sakura nodded not taking her eyes away from the body. "This is a murder."

"Naruto! Did you call the police now?" Sasuke turned to the blonde, who held the frantic and crying Hinata in his arms. "Yes, they are already on their way."

Yukino and Neji watched Hinata from the sidelines. Neji didn't look at all happy to see Hinata with Naruto but he knew that this wasn't the time to start a fight with Naruto especially now that Hinata was so upset.

"I'm going to get her a glass of water," Yukino told to Neji as she left. "Keep her calm."

"I can smell a hint of Potassium cyanide in this popcorn but the others are clean," Sakura told him, holding the popcorn Torii had eaten from, then she went over to Tsubasa. "Tsubasa-san, would you mind if I inspect your hands please? Did you eat any of this popcorn?"

Tsubasa stared at her confused but let her inspect them. "Sure, I don't see why not and no I never had the chance to eat the popcorn. I was too busy screaming my head off. You would too if you just saw somebody die in front of you."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. Sakura witnessed too but did not scream.

Tsubasa blushed, realizing it. "I mean… this is my first time," she began stammering.

Sakura inspected her hands, but then frowned. "Did anybody else touch you, the microphone or Torii since she sang?"

Tsubasa shrugged. She wanted to go home. "Torii never allows anybody to touch her." She chuckled without much humor in it. "She has the Prima Donna syndrome. She doesn't like _commoners _to touch her. As far as I can remember, no I don't think even the host touched it."

"What about you?"

"No, being around people I don't know makes me nervous. I like to keep my personal space." Tsubasa didn't like the serious look Sakura had on her face. "Sakura-san? Is there something wrong?" Tsubasa asked, nervously.

"Everybody, stand back and nobody touch anything on this stage and especially the microphone, the body and you too Tsubasa-san." Tsubasa's eyes bulged open. "Tsubasa-san, there is cyanide in your hands too…"

"What?" she screeched. "How could I get it in my hands?"

"I don't know. You tell us, Miss Ongaku," Sasuke smirked. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"Are you accusing me of something, Uchiha? Then that is one very serious accusation." She folded her arms. "I didn't kill her for your information. Why should I kill her?"

"You're hiding something, Ongaku." He was inspecting the microphone and was not surprised to find the cyanide on ittoo. "There is cyanide on the microphone too, Sakura." He turned his attention back to the angry singer. "You might as well tell us. We will find out sooner or later. My instincts told me that you did not say the whole truth earlier. My instincts are never wrong."

* * *

"What are you doing, my son?" 

Sasuke looked up from the file he was reading…or at least trying to read. "Mom? Oh, it's just you."

"Just me? What does that mean?" The beautiful lady pretended to be hurt but you can tell by her twinkling eyes that she was amused. "Is that any way to greet your mother?"

Sasuke smiled. He could already tell that his beautiful mother was just kidding. Sasuke was proud to have her as his mother. He had never told anyone…but Naruto of course. Mrs. Uchiha with her long black hair and gentle smile made her shine an inner glow. It wasn't a mystery where Sasuke got his looks. It was like Sasuke was the male version of his own mother. "Hmmm…and how am supposed to greet you?"

She sat down on the empty seat across him. "With more respect of course." She saw the file in front of him and frowned. "Another investigation? What is it this time? Stealing? Vandalism?"

"No…murder." He really didn't want to tell his mother but she would have found out sooner or later. Sasuke's father was a lawyer after all with a lot of connections. It was better than she knew about it now.

From the look on his mother's face, he could tell that she was shocked. The school had never given her son such a serious investigation before. "A murder? Sasuke, shouldn't you leave that to the police?"

Sasuke smiled softly and shook his head. "Mother, you are smothering me again."

"This is very different from the other cases you've handled, my son." She stroked his cheek with her hand. "I'm only worried for my baby."

Sasuke took her hand from his cheek and kissed the back of it. "I'm not a baby anymore. This is just something I have to do."

She sighed and nodded. It was hopeless trying to change his mind. Sasuke never did when he was determined to do something. "Okay, I will leave you to your investigation now. Your father is not going to like this, you know?"

He didn't say anything. His father was always upset with him about something, so he doesn't really care anymore. Their father always praised his brother, Itachi. Uchiha Itachi was a genius and Sasuke had just stopped competing now. Even he knew that he'd never be as good as his brother.

"I have to get dinner ready." She kissed him on the forehead before finally exiting. "Be careful, okay? Don't get yourself into too much trouble."

"Thanks, mom," he replied, laughing.

Once his mother was gone. Sasuke began rereading the file again. The police had given him and Sakura each a copy. He didn't know what exactly Tsunade-sensei was thinking giving them such a responsibility. He shook his head, frustrated. He had no time to think about that now. He had a case to solve.

In all honesty, he didn't want to take the case at first but then he heard that Sakura wanted to take it. Tsunade-sensei and he had a little talk. He had called him to her office after the murder.

"_You heard that Sakura wanted to take the case, right?' The teacher asked, with a frown on her face. _

_He nodded. "Yes, I've heard but what does this have to do with me?" He folded his arms, defiantly to annoy the teacher. _

"_I want you to watch and if possible help her," she replied. "She badly wants to take this case. I'm not really sure why but she begged me to allow her. I gave her permission." _

"_Tsunade-sensei, for all do respect, are you crazy?" Sasuke cried out. "You're giving a **murder **case to a sixteen-year old girl?""_

_Tsunade was quiet for a while and continued shuffling her papers, before finally saying, "But not an ordinary sixteen-year old. You have to admit."_

_Sasuke didn't say anything. He knew she was right but would rather die than admit it. He turned to walk out from her office. Before he left though she said, "If you do this, Mr. Uchiha, I might reconsider sending you to summer school."_

So, here he was. Helping Sakura solve the case. Both of them were amateurs when it came to murder cases but a lot of people believed in them.

The first file was the victim's. Uta Torii…

**Name:** _Uta Torii_

**Age:** _17_

**Gender:** _Female_

There were other details in the file… like her address and old schools. Sasuke studied every one of them no matter how small, just looking for some sort of clue. He found nothing conspicuous so far.

He got to the case file…

_Cause of death was poisoning (Potassium Cyanide). Poison found on various locations of the body, on the victim's hips and hair mostly. _

There was a lot of data concerning the poisoning but not enough about the victim's actual character. He didn't know much about Uta Torii. He had seen a small portion of her character when she was talking to those two suspects. She was obviously the Prima Dona type. Somehow, he didn't like the way she treated them but then again…he treated others the same way too.

He was cold and calculating, somehow he can actually see a portion of himself in the victim. Cold… Uchiha Sasuke had always been cold. That was how people like _always _got what they want. He frowned. He shouldn't be thinking this way. He can't regret his actions now.

**Suspect #1:** _Ongaku Tsubasa_

**Age:** _17_

**Gender:** _Female_

She was the musical representative of Sora High. She was girl of average grades and background. Nothing at all was conspicuous…until his eye noticed one little detail.

**Elementary School:** _Cloud High Elementary School_

Tsubasa spent elementary school at the same school as the victim. Sasuke frowned. Not once did Tsubasa mention that in her interrogation. Then again, when they spoke together before Torii died, they acted like they actually knew each other. Tsubasa also didn't start singing until she transferred to Sora High. It was also odd…

According to her file, she was also an impulsive writer. She writes anything on impulse. Sasuke wasn't really sure if this was important information but he was not going to completely leave it out of the investigation.

**Suspect #2:** _Suzuki Aya_

**Age:** _17_

**Gender:** _Female_

It explained that Aya used to go to an all-girl school in Germany before finally going to Cloud High when she reached High school. She became best friends with the victim and when the victim decided to launch her career, she volunteered to be her manager.

She scheduled her appearances, performances and practices. She also organized the payments and bills. Aya seemed to be the one that handled everything in Torii's accounts and calendar.

From what Sasuke could tell, Aya would work herself to the grave for Torii. Why would she suddenly want to kill her? They were best friends, right? Sasuke thought that most of the time Naruto was annoying but he really couldn't imagine killing him. Though, it is very tempting sometimes.

He removed pictures of Aya from a manila envelope. He took out the picture of Aya when she was in High school. Aya was lovely in a very average way. She wore long skirts and long- sleeved blouses, glasses and braces. There was just nothing striking about her.

There was another picture inside and this time, Sasuke's jaw almost dropped. It was a picture of Aya in Elementary school. Sasuke couldn't believe that this was the same girl.

Aya's brown hair was down and not kept in one of her tight ponytails. She wasn't wearing any glasses or braces. She actually looked like one of the girls that Sasuke would date, if he didn't prefer blondes back then. Suzuki Aya was definitely beautiful and definitely rivaled Torii's beauty. Sasuke wanted to know what happened to this girl.

He was also given medical files of each suspect aside from the studies and autopsy of the victim. It turned out that Aya's eyesight is a perfect 20/20 and her braces were removed a few months ago. So, she was wearing retainers. Why? This girl didn't make sense. She's a girl and girls are usually so conscious of how they looked.

**Suspect #3:** _Hanabishi Makoto_

**Age:** _19_

**Gender:** _Male_

He also went to Cloud High. Makoto had a history of jealous fits. He'd been already sent to jail twice for beating up people he suspected Torii dated while they were still together. He was handsome and a strict on fidelity. He was an honor student and his best subject was Chemistry.

He was also a musician. He played electric guitar. During the contest, he guitar played for Torii, while watching Torii flirt with her latest boyfriend, who was a back-up singer, on stage. According to some witnesses, Makoto did not look too happy.

Sasuke picked up the phone and dialed Sakura's number. "Sakura, it's me…it is time that we investigate further."

* * *

"Where do we go first?" Sakura asked Sasuke. They were inside Sasuke's red convertible and yes… Sasuke's driving… 

"We're going to Miss Uta's school, Cloud High," he replied not taking his eyes off the road. Sasuke's a very accomplished race driver, so there is no real need to worry that he was going 60 miles per hour down an empty highway. "I want to talk to people who knew her and…" he squeezed the steering wheel harder. Her manager and ex-boyfriend."

Sakura nodded. "Let's not forget her latest boyfriend."

Sasuke smiled. "Yes, him too…"

Cloud high was just a twenty-minute drive from their school. As soon as Sakura got his call, Sakura accepted. She was really going to go anyway. She'd heard that Uchiha Sasuke was a great detective. She wasn't really sure, if she believed them but she really did want to see what the pretty-boy could do.

Sakura watched him sweet talk a female student and frowned. So this was how this "professional" worked, huh? Two can play that game.

"She said that Hanabishi is in the music room," he told her, after giving the female informer a peck on the cheek for the information.

She smirked. "Now I see why you enjoy this job."

Sasuke frowned for a moment but then grinned. "Now, now, sweetheart. This is not the best time to show you're jealous." He gave her a surprise peck on the cheek. "We have some work to do you know."

Sakura blushed. "You egotistic moron, what in the world makes you think I'm jealous?" She jabbed him hard on the arm, Sasuke fought to keep from crying out. "You can sweet talk every girl in this school and I wouldn't even care less."

She walked away in a huff, leaving Sasuke to follow her from behind with a triumphant grin on his face.

* * *

That triumphant grin didn't last for long that was for sure. They found the suspect, Hanabishi Makoto, in the music room all right. Sakura didn't waste time. She used Sasuke's technique against him. She began to sweet talk him into surrendering information. At first, Makoto seemed surprised but then he realized what she was trying to do. 

"She was trying to make her boyfriend jealous," he thought. It seemed to be working to, so he decided to play along just to make things interesting.

"Makoto-san, I'm Haruno Sakura," she said in a very giggly voice. "It is great to finally meet you."

Makoto had always been famous around the school for his disarming smile. "Sakura? What a very beautiful name for someone as beautiful."

Sakura shook his hand, her smile unwavering. "Makoto-san, you are just too kind."

All of a sudden, Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a private corner to talk. "Sakura, what game are you playing? Are you aware that you're flirting with a dangerous suspect?"

"Hmmph," she said, turning her head the other way. Who was he to tell her what to do? "You're overacting. What are you doing here interrogating me on how I do my job? Why don't you go to Suzuki Aya and ask her some questions? Don't waste time talking to me."

Sakura walked away in a huff but plastered a smile on her face again, when she began talking to Makoto. Instead of leaving, Sasuke followed her. No way was he going to leave her with him alone. Sakura did her best to ignore him but it was difficult. Sasuke was throwing murderous looks at Makoto the whole time.

Sasuke also kept on wrapping him arm around her shoulder. At first, she kept shrugging his arm away but then he held firm and threw her a look that said, "if-you-shrug-my-arm-away-again-I-will-break-you-neck." She stopped shrugging it.

"So, how long had you and Torii been together?" Sakura asked. The arm around her shoulders was heavy and she was very tempted to cut it off.

"Mmmm… about two months," he replied. He picked up his acoustic guitar, his electric on was in the shop, and began playing a soft tune. "I know it may not seem long for some people but usually Torii's boyfriends last for only a few days." He stopped playing. "I did love her, you know?"

Sasuke snorted. "You must have, if you were willing to go to jail for her."

Makoto frowned but didn't say a word. Instead, he played his guitar. He began humming the lyrics of _Poisoned Lady_. Sasuke didn't like the guy but couldn't help noticing that the pretty boy had a pretty good voice.

"It must have taken a long time to master the Poisoned lady," Sakura gushed, annoying Sasuke even more. "Torii really awed me with her lyrics? Who wrote it? Did Torii write it?"

Makoto stopped playing and stared into space for a few minutes before replying, "Torii never really struck me as a song writer, so when she showed us Poisoned Lady, we were quite shocked." He smiled faintly and shrugged. "The song was amazing."

"Who usually wrote the songs?" Sakura smiled, sweetly. Sasuke wanted to puke.

Makoto shrugged and blushed. "I did…" then he looked away, frowning. "Actually, for the contest, I wanted her to sing a song I wrote. It was called, _I'm waiting…_" He began strumming the chords. It was a ballad.

Sakura squealed. "Can you sing it for us?" She grabbed his hand and brought it to her cheek. "Pretty please?" she asked, fluttering her eyes.

Makoto blushed but then Sasuke grabbed her hand and pushed her away from the singer. The brunette gave him a I'm-gonna-kill-you look. Makoto ignored it and began to strum the chords for the song. _I'm waiting_ was a beautiful song. It was about a girl who went away for a long time and a guy who stood by and waited for the girl to return.

The detectives could tell that Makoto had poured his heart out in this song. They wondered why Torii didn't choose to sing it. Sakura was just about to ask, but then Makoto answered her question for her.

"Torii didn't want to sing it because…I wrote this for another girl many years ago," he whispered. He put away his guitar after he finished the song, not looking at the two listening. "But it was our best song, I thought we had no choice." He scratched his head, nervously. "I guess it was stupid of me to tell her about the song."

"Whom did you write the song for?" Sakura tried pushing her way through Sasuke. He was blocking her way.

Makoto looked both ways and then whispered, "It is a secret…"

"What about her moves?" Sasuke decided to take over answering the questions. He didn't like the way Sakura gushed at Makoto's every word. "Is she a cheerleader? Did she take dance classes? I've never seen moves like those before."

The blonde singer chuckled. "Actually, she surprised us with that as well."

Both Sakura and Sasuke frowned. "What did he mean by that?" they thought.

Makoto stood up and sighed. "If you guys can excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."

"Wait, Makoto-san." She held on to his sleeve, ignoring the frown on her partner's face. "Do you know where we can find Aya-san? We can't seem to find her anywhere."

Makoto gave Sakura a strange look. "What are you talking about? She's right here."

Sasuke looked around. It didn't take him long to find her. He never noticed her before because he was too busy keeping an eye on Hanabishi. Suzuki Aya looked different that day. It was a good thing that he saw her picture earlier or else he wouldn't believe what he was seeing.

Aya was on top of a ladder decorating the stage for the performance the band was going to make that night. They were going to hold a concert for the memorial of Uta Torii. Aya didn't have her fake glasses on anymore or the retainers or wearing clothes three times her size. She was wearing form-fitting pants, showing off her incredibly long legs and sleeve-less blouse.

Sakura's jaw dropped, literally.

"Didn't you see her elementary school photograph?" I whispered to her, after seeing the shocked expression on her face.

"Yes, I did but I thought they gave it to me by mistake. I didn't know that it was really her photograph," she whispered back.

It was understandable. Nobody would have guessed that this beautiful lady was once considered an old lady and inconspicuous. Right now, Suzuki Aya could stop traffic.

Sasuke was about to ask Makoto another question, but then he noticed that he had another one of those faraway looks on his face. Sasuke was curious about what it meant. Hanabishi Makoto spaced out a lot…

Suddenly, another student walked by, carrying a big load of costumes in his arms. Poor kid couldn't see where he was going. Makoto woke up from his trance. He reacted quickly, "Wait! Stop! You'll knock over the lader!"

"Huh?" the student looked up but he was too late. He bumped into the ladder, causing it to sway.

"What is going on here?" Aya screamed and held on for dear life.

"Aya!" Makoto ran towards her with lightning fast speed. Aya lost her grip and fell from the ladder. She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Ah!"

Makoto had made it just in time to catch her though. He held her in his arms and cradled her, trying to comfort the now hysterical girl. She cuddled closer and began crying. Sasuke and Sakura of course tried to help but then they realized that Makoto didn't need help calming her because he was already doing a great job. Instead, they stood back and observed.

Makoto had a soft and forlorn look on his face and Aya snuggled into his embrace like it was a familiar gesture. There was something strange going on. Later, after Makoto brought Aya to the clinic to rest, he led Sakura and Sasuke to an empty classroom. They had a lot of questions now and he had no choice but to answer them.

Sakura transformed from a fangirl to a cop in a second. "Aya was the girl in the song." It was a statement and not a question.

Makoto nodded. "Yes, she is."

Sasuke groaned. "No wonder your girlfriend didn't want to sing it. It was a song for her manager!" He pulled up a chair for him and Sakura. This was going to be a long story. "I think there is more to the story than this. Now, tell us."

The blonde was hesitant at first. "I knew Aya before she met Torii. I was one of her first friends in school.' He smiled at the memory. "I guess you can say that it was love at first sight." He then leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. "She was so beautiful. The most beautiful girl I've ever met. I was content to be her friend."

"She doesn't know yet, huh?" Sasuke snorted. He wasn't at all surprised when he nodded in reply. Just great," he thought. "Another wimpy, blonde Naruto, a guy too scared to tell a girl how he felt."

"She changed when she met Torii," he told them, sadly. "She changed her whole appearance. She said that Torii was her friend and it wasn't safe for a girl as pretty as her to walk around campus. The truth is that Torii just can't stan anybod more pretty than her. Naturally, Aya would do anything for her, a friend."

Sakura leaned forward. "But didn't the students noticed how odd it was?"

"They did for a while but then they began to get use to seeing her that way." Makoto pounded his fist on the desk, hard. "I hated it. I hated listening to all those people talk behind her back about how _ugly_ she was." He laughed, an angry laugh. "If only those fools knew…they may have forgotten what a beauty she is but I had not and…she will always be beautiful to me…always…"

* * *

"What do you think?" Sakura asked. They were inside Sasuke's car again but this time on their way towards Sora High. "Do you think one of those two killed her?" 

"Hmm…" Sasuke thought hard. He really didn't know what to think. "If I were to choose, I'd say I want Hanabishi to be the killer."

"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I did not like the way you flirted with him and the way he flirted back," he admitted, angrily. "What was wrong with you in there? You were acting like one of his fangirls!"

She raised her chin. "Hmph…you're probably just jealous that I'm not a member of your fanclub and speak for yourself. You flirt with anything in skirts."

"You don't wear skirts," he teased her. "Yet, I flirt with you in almost a daily basis. And yes…I am jealous."

"Shut up," she replied and looked away. She was also blushing quite furiously.

Sasuke liked seeing her so flustered. She looked incredibly cute. "We're going to go see Ongaku Tsubasa next." He gripped the steering wheel. "I have a bad feeling about her. You felt it too, right? There is something that she's not telling us."

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I agree. There is something that she's not telling us but it doesn't meant that she is a murderer."

"Still, she is my #1 suspect though." He steered the convertible sharply to a curb. "I don't trust her…"

"But she is Hinata-chan's friend. She can't be all bad," she argued. "Maybe she has a reason to keep it a secret. We don't know all the details, Uchiha."

"Hyuuga is trying to protect her, remember?" he argued back. "And since she is trying to protect her, I don't trust that Hyuuga girl neither."

Suddenly, Sakura's phone rang. She reached into her purse to pick it up but then Sasuke grabbed her phone and picked it up himself. "Hello? Oh, it is you, dobe." Sakura knew immediately that it was Naruto. Naruto was the only person Sasuke called dobe. "What do you want?"

Sakura could faintly hear the sound of Naruto's voice. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we're together. What is it to you?"

Sakura tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but the sound of the engine was too loud and it killed the Naruto's voice. She leaned back, bored. A few minutes later, Sasuke hung up. "So, what did Naruto want?"

"He and Hinata are in Sora High," he replied. "He just thought that we should know." Sasuke never bothered to ask her how she knew it was Naruto. He knew she was sharp.

"I guess it would be better that way. Maybe we'll get more answers." She did not really believe it herself but she hoped. She wanted this case solved as soon as possible.

"Maybe…" Sasuke didn't look too convinced either.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, nice to see yah!" Naruto greeted her with a wide grin, completely ignoring Sasuke. "Tsubasa-chan and Hinata-chan are waiting for you inside the performance hall." 

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm going to go around to investigate. Where's the girl's shadow?"

Naruto shrugged. "You mean Neji-baka? He's with Yukino, I think. Yukino volunteered to make lunch. Why?"

"No reason." He began to walk towards the opposite direction of the performance hall. "I'll meet you guys there. I have a theory and I want to know if it is correct."

"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto called out.

"Give me ten minutes. That is all I need!" he called back, running away. He didn't give Sakura and Naruto a chance to catch up. He had some suspicions about Ongaku Tsubasa from the very beginning. All he needed was proof.

"Oi! You're Uchiha Sasuke, right!"

Sasuke stopped and looked behind him. He saw a silver-haired guy within long hair that seemed to be only a few years older than him. Sasuke couldn't say that he knew guy but it looked like the guy knew him.

"Do I know you?" he asked, cautiously.

Oh, my. I guess you don't remember me," he chuckled. "I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I was at the festival."

"Hmm…now I remember. You're from Sound High."

Kabuto nodded with a friendly smile on his face. Sasuke relaxed a bit. Yakushi Kabuto looked harmless enough. "What are you doing here is Sora High, Kabuto-san?"

"Hmmm? Me?" Kabuto asked. "Nothing much really… I'm just here to pick up something. What about you, Sasuke-san? Does this have anything to do with your investigation?"

"You know about that?" Sasuke looked at him with a surprised look. He didn't know that people knew about his investigation. Tsunade-sensei wanted to keep things as quiet as possible.

"I have my ways," Kabuto laughed, and then he took out a strange deck of cards. "What do you want to know? I might be able to help you…"

* * *

"Sasuke-kun is really taking long to get back," Hinata stammered. "I wonder if he is lost." 

Naruto patted Hinata on the back. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. Sasuke-kun will be right back. Don't you worry…"

The door of the performance hall slammed open. Sasuke stood there with an angry look on his face. "Yes, Hinata, no need to worry. Because I'm here." He looked at Tsubasa and he got even angrier. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long, Ongaku."

Tsubasa mirrored his angry look. "Not at all, Sasuke-san. I'm ready for whatever you throw at me."

"Good." Sasuke threw her a cassette tape. "I want you to play that."

"What is it?"

"You'll know…"

Tsubasa did what he said. She played the cassette on her cassette player. She froze when she heard the first few chords. "_Poisoned Lady…_" she whispered.

"Yes." He sat down on the empty chair nearest to Sakura. Sakura frowned at him. She wanted to ask him what he was up to but he chose to ignore it. "I want you to sing it…"

Tsubasa nodded. She had no choice but to do what he said. She got on stage and grbbed the microphone.

"By the way, Ongaku, don't forget to do the little dance that came with the song," Sasuke said. "Unless of course you can't do it."

She clenched her fists on the microphone but then did a little pose. Just like Torii's pose before she had sang that night. She mimicked it perfectly. As the first note escaped her lips, she caught her audience, spellbound. Each sway of her hips, each move of her arms did not look practiced as it did on Torii the night of the murder. It was natural grace…

Sakura gasped, finally understanding.

Tsubasa ended her performance with a dazzling pose. The same one Torii did. From start to ending, everything was the same. Except, this time it might even be better.

"The performance looks even more beautiful now that it is with the real owner, right?" Sasuke asked the audience with a note of sarcasm. He clapped his hands, mockingly. "Bravo, Ongaku."

Tsubasa didn't say anything. She just glared at him with all the hatred she could muster.

"You killed her," Sasuke sneered. "I though it was odd that you didn't start your actual career until you transferred. You were friends, weren't you? Then she didn't need you anymore."

Tsubasa looked away, unable to reply. Instead, tears fell from her eyes.

"She probably stopped you when you were in elementary school. She couldn't stand the thought of somebody more talented than her," he continued. "She did that with Suzuki Aya too…" He threw her a yearbook. It was a yearbook with the picture of her and Torii in their elementary school years. "I found this picture after some research in the library. From the way you two stuck together, I can tell that you were friends."

Tsubasa dropped to the floor and burst into tears. Hinata was about to go to comfort her but Naruto stopped her. "She was my whole life," she finally admitted. "I thought she was my best friend! I trusted her!" She kicked the microphone stand. The microphone was still in her hands but she let it roll away on the stage. "I was so happy a few weeks ago, when she contacted me after all these years."

"Tell me the truth, Tsubasa." Sasuke folded his arms in front of him. "Tell me…"

Tsubasa looked away, indignantly. "You want to know the truth? Then I'll tell you… I do have a reason to hate… and kill Torii…"

"Tsubasa-chan, no!" Hinata cried out, only to be held back by Naruto. "You can't tell them that!"

Tsubasa ignored her. "Uta Torii didn't write Poisoned Lady." There was a collection of gasps and whispers but Tsubasa didn't seem to care anymore. "She didn't write it…because I did…"

"You didn't know that she was joining the contest, did you?" Sakura asked.

"She never even mentioned it!" The angry singer screamed. "I showed her my performance and imagine the shock I had to see it as part of Cloud High's entry saying, by Uta Torii." She laughed. "I worked hard on that song! It took me three months to perfect. I wrote a song in one afternoon, you know?"

"I wouldn't be really surprised," the black-haired detective drawled. "The reports say that you're an impulsive writer. You can write anything in a matter of minutes."

"Yes, _How could you_ was written on the same day as the contest. It took a while but we gave a good performance despite the lack of practice," she muttered. "It would have been better if we had the _Poisoned Lady_." She looked up to Sasuke. "Your suspicions and accusations have been right up to this point, Uchiha. But you are wrong about one thing though…"

He arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Tsubasa forced herself to smile. "I did **not** kill Uta Torii, my best friend…"

* * *

**Tsubame:** Do you think Tsubasa is telling the truth? Did she kill Torii? Or did one of the other two suspects did it? What in the world is Yakushi Kabuto doing in Sora High? 


	9. Chapter 9

**Tsubame: **This is where you really have to be careful with all the clues I'm giving and gave you. Remember every single detail. It will be helpful and it will test how sharp you really are.

**Anonymous reviewer:** If you are still reading this, the first thing I want to say is THANK YOU SO MUCH! -**Glomp-** After I read your review, I reread this story again and I realized that you were right. I am in dire need of a beta-reader. Are you available:3

**Wanted:** One beta-reader, just for my Naruto fics because I already have a beta-reader for my GS. I don't update that often because of school. I don't really have specific qualifications. If you are interested, please tell me.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

* * *

"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Haruno Sakura**

* * *

**_Last time…_**

"_Yes, How could you was written on the same day as the contest. It took a while but we gave a good performance despite the lack of practice," she muttered. "It would have been better if we had the Poisoned Lady." She looked up to Sasuke. "Your suspicions and accusations have been right up to this point, Uchiha. But you are wrong about one thing though…"_

_He arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"_

_Tsubasa forced herself to smile. "I did **not** kill Uta Torii, my best friend…"_

* * *

Is this the curse, when everything is given to you?

_Possible betrayal… deceit… death? _It never really occurred to Sakura that there were such conditions for being so lucky. Uta Torii was not the nicest person in the world. In truth, she might even be one of the worst. She was lucky but…never learned to be grateful.

"_Count your blessings…_" Sakura's mother always told her. She smiled as she remembered that time when she was six years old. She spent the day with her mother shopping. She almost had a tantrum that day, when her mother wouldn't buy her a pretty fan. It was a very expensive fan… to expensive to be bought for just a fan.

Her mother had just smiled and said, "Count your blessings."

Being six years old, Sakura had not understood what her mother meant. Now she did. Sakura knew that she didn't have the most perfect parents. She only saw them at least twice a year. That didn't stop them from trying though. Whenever they do visit her, they would give Sakura 110 of their time. She was grateful for at least that…

Sakura loved her parents very much…she never once thought of herself unfortunate.

"Do you believe her?" Sakura whispered, to her very silent companion. Sasuke hadn't said a thing since Tsubasa made her announcement. "Do you really believe that Tsubasa-chan killed her?" They had already left Sora High and were on their way back to Konoha. Honestly, Sakura wanted very much to believe in Tsubasa but all evidence of the murder pointed to her.

What is she going to do?

"Truthfully, Sakura, I just don't know…" Sasuke admitted. "There are a lot of things in this case that I just don't understand." He made a sharp U-turn. He was driving at a frightening speed, two times the speed he drove earlier. He was angry…and this is his way of calming himself.

He didn't really care that he could probably hit a car any minute but he was an expert driver. Sakura was whimpering and praying that they returned to Konoha alive and in one piece. After this, she was never going to get in a car with Uchiha Sasuke ever again. That is if she survived this drive.

"Slow down, Sasuke!" Sakura screamed. "You're going too fast and I don't want to die yet!" She was wearing her seatbelt very tightly and covered her eyes as swerved from one lane to another. She was relieved there were not many cars on the road now. "What in the world is your problem?"

Sasuke ignored her and accelerated even more. Sakura gave a little screech but he didn't pay any heed. He was beginning to hate this case more and more. He couldn't stop thinking about how despicable it was if Torii had been killed by one of these people.

He could never imagine Naruto betraying him. The guy was an idiot but loyal to a fault. He had proven himself to Sasuke numerous times. Sasuke remembered the times he got himself into a fight and even though he clearly could handle it himself, Naruto joined in. Sasuke asked him, "why?" Naruto replied with one of his wide grins and said, "We have bond though I know you're never going to admit it, stupid."

**_Bonds?_** Did Torii have these **_bonds_** with these people?

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura managed to force herself to say. She had been worried about him since they left Sora. "You seem to be deep in thought. Care to share those thoughts with me?" She screeched when Sasuke again swerved in another curve. "Before you get us both killed."

Where were the traffic officers when you needed them?

"Would you just relax?" He made another sharp turn and this time Sakura couldn't hold her scream. "I have everything under control."

Sakura held on to the car handle for dear life. "Are you even old enough to drive like this?"

Sasuke just grinned and said, "No." He didn't look at all repentant with that admission. "Aww…don't tell me you're scared, Sakura. Or maybe you're worried about breaking my neck."

She shook her head, frustrated. "I thought so." Then frowned and stuck out her tongue. "I'm too worried about breaking my neck to worry about yours. Thank you very much."

"So what is the plan?" Sasuke asked her. "We need to solve this quick. I have a fight with the kid from Sand to look forward to. I heard he's strong."

Sakura sighed. "Men," she thought. "All they ever think about is fighting." She tried to enjoy the scenery outside her window instead since Sasuke wasn't going to listen to her about slowing down. "Who killed you, Torii-san?"

* * *

"A brush?" Sasuke and Sakura chorused. They were back in school again and were being briefed by the investigation's inspector about the recent findings.

"Yes," the inspector nodded. "We found it among the victim's belongings and it is riddled with cyanide." He showed them a clear plastic bag. "The odd thing is, according to the people we interviewed, this brush didn't belong to the victim."

"What made them say that?" Sakura asked. She reached out and took the bag from the inspector. "Did you check it for fingerprints already?"

The inspector nodded again. "Yes, this guy is smart. There are no traces of fingerprints other than the victim's." Then he pointed to the handle of the brush. "See the handle? It is not one of the branded brushes she usually bought. It is just one of those that you can buy anywhere…"

"…and Torii never bought anything common?" Sasuke finished for him. He saw the inspector nod and the young boy snorted. "Figures."

"So this brush isn't hers?" she gave it to her partner and it became his turn to inspect it. "The question now is…where did she get it, if it wasn't hers?"

The man sighed. "We don't know. We're still trying to trace where this was bought but that search is not taking us anywhere."

"Good work," Sasuke said, tossing his back the brush. "Let's go, Sakura. We still have to meet meet up with Tsunade-sensei."

Sakura frowned at his indifference and rudeness. She smiled apologetically at the inspector before finally following Sasuke out. Once outside, she let him know exactly what she thought. "Sasuke, you pig! That was rude of you to treat him like that. He's helping us with the case."

Sasuke just snorted again. "We can't all be sweet and polite as you during a case." He stopped and grabbed her hand. "I have a lot on my mind and I don't have time to think about how I'm hurting that guy's feelings." He kissed the back of her hand and grinned, impishly. "You understand, don't you, princess?"

She ground her teeth. "Don't call me princess." She looked at the clock. "What time were we supposed to meet Naruto and Hinata again?"

"Hmmm…in a half hour." He shrugged.

"I have a question to ask, Sasuke."

"What's that?"

"Yamanaka Ino is Naruto's girlfriend, right?" She snatched her hand away from his grip. "Why is it that he's around Hinata-chan more than his own girlfriend? I don't get it." She folded her arms in front of her "I know that Naruto likes her but what is the point of having Ino as a girlfriend if he's more interested in her bestfriend. That is just looking for trouble. Don't you agree?"

Sasuke just shrugged. The reason for Naruto's actions never really bothered him before. It was not going to bother him now. "How am I supposed to know what is going on inside that dobe's head?" He sighed. "I dated Yamanaka before and she wasn't so bad. She was one of those girlfriend's of mine who lasted a week at least."

"Oh, really?" Sakura's mood suddenly became dark.

Sasuke didn't notice. "Yeah, I didn't keep her though because she was too clingy for me." Without warning, Sakura threw him a punch right on the cheek.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he demanded.

Instead of sticking around, she held her head and walked away. Sasuke held his swollen cheek, annoyed with happened but then smiled. There was only one reason he could think of for that punch. He grinned wider than before now realizing it. She was jealous….

"Why did I do that?" Sakura thought, frantically. She tugged her long pink hair as her cheeks changed into the same color. "Now he is going to think I'm jealous, when I'm absolutely not! Who'd like a playboy like him? So stupid!" Then she stopped. She realized that she had no idea where she was going. As much as she hated the egotistic playboy at that moment, she needed him. "I better wait for him… or maybe it will be batter if I went back."

She was about to go back, when she suddenly felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you Haruno Sakura?" She heard someone say. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Sakura shrugged the hand away and was surprised to come face to face with a smiling brunette teen. He looked like he was about her age. He was good-looking in his own way. He had dark hair and eyes like Sasuke's but there was just something about his smile that sent strange shivers down her spine.

It was a forced smile…

He must have noticed her surprise because he suddenly chuckled, then took her hand in his and kissed it. "Hi, I'm Sai. I'm really sorry to have frightened you"

Sakura stared at him for a while. She could definitely tell that this was a forced smile. She couldn't help ask to herself why.

"See something you like?" he teased. She blushed again as she looked away. Why is it that the guys were suddenly in a mood to make her blush? She decided that maybe it would be better if she just walked away. "Hay! Don't go," he said. "I was just teasing you…"

"It is nice to meet you, Sai. Really…but I'm busy right now. Could you bothe ---I mean…can we talk another time?"

"Where are you going? Let me tag along!"

"What are you doing here, Sai?" a voice demanded, he then felt someone grab the collar of his shirt. Sai could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Nice to see you again, Sasuke!" Sai replied, cheerfully. Sasuke clenched his collar tighter. Sai was amused. "Is this anyway to treat your…cousin?"

"He's your cousin?" She exclaimed, clearly bewildered. She supposed that maybe it would make sense since they looked so much alike. Except…

Sasuke's smile is more sincere…

"I will ask you one more time. What are you doing here, stupid?" Sasuke sneered. It was so vile that it even sent shivers of fear down Sakura's spine too. From the looks of it, Sasuke didn't get along with his cousin very much. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me or do I have to beat you up for it? Believe me, it will be my pleasure."

Sai's smile didn't waver. On the contrary, it grew broader, as he waved his hands in front of him. "Hey! I come in peace." He shrugged, then said, "Tsunade-sensei thought that you might need my help in this case. After all, I have more experience with murder cases. You're just a rookie."

"Why you…"

"Uchiha-san, you better not start a fight. Not here," Sakura warned, her voice ice-cold.

Sasuke clenched his fists and understood. "I'll behave…but I won't like it."

Sai grinned, devilishly. "Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. You're my guardian angel." He gave her a big bear hug and then suddenly brushed his lips lightly on hers. Sakura blushed yet again. "Wahh! Sakura-chan is so cute when she blushes!"

Sasuke flexed his knuckles, looking very angry indeed. "That's the last----"

"So here you three are! We've been looking for you!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" she cried with relief. Sasuke wouldn't cause trouble in front of a teacher…or would he?

"Kakashi-baka. You're late again I see…"

He would…

Kakashi-sensei didn't seem to mind though. You could still see the smile behind his mask. "Nice to see you too, Sasuke-kun. What is with the bad mood?" He turned to Sai and tsked-tsked. "Sai-kun, you haven't been teasing our little Sasuke-kun again, have you?"

Sai chuckled. "Maybe… a little."

"Are there any normal people in this school?"

* * *

"So…what do you got?"

Sai, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were now in the visitor's lounge. But the room was empty except for them. They gave Sai the 411 on the case so far. During that time, Sakura noticed that Sai's smile had faded. He was deep in concentration

Sakura was so engrossed on his face that she didn't notice that Kakashi-sensei was observing her. "Sakura-chan?"

"Yes," she replied, not taking her eyes off Sai.

"Sai-kun can be an idiot sometimes but he's really a nice guy. He is really serious during his cases. See that drawing pad by him?" Her eyes followed to the spot where Kakashi-sensei was pointing. Sure enough, tucked in his sling bag was a large drawing pad. "In every case he has, he always draws a portrait of the victim. He says it was like he was giving back life to the person through his art."

"Really?"

The teacher nodded. "He is a good guy but a little troublemaker sometimes but still good. He just likes to tease Sasuke and…" he turned to her. "Interesting girls."

She grinned. "Then I shouldn't have any problems, right?"

Kakashi smiled with her but he wasn't sure about what she was thinking. He knew very well that to those two young men, Haruno Sakura was more interesting than she thought.

"Sai-san, may I see your drawings please?" pointing to the drawing pad.

Sai smiled lightly, not really listening. He was too busy thinking about the case. "Sai-san? Why so formal, Sakura-chan?" He kissed the back of her hand. "Please I insist that you call me Sai and sure you can borrow it, but take care of that."

"Yes." She took the drawing pad and proceeded to browse. She was amazed by Sai's talent in art because inside were perfect-looking portraits. There were many of young women, all very beautiful and all were smiling happily. But what really caught her attention was first page. It was a portrait of a very handsome man.

Light colored hair, Sakura wasn't sure of the color because it was in black and white. The man was smiling widely. He seemed to be happy about something. There was something about the portrait. It somehow seemed different from the rest.

Under the portrait said, **"1986-2005"**

"This was Sai-san's saddest case. He found the killer but I don't think he ever got over it." Kakashi felt it was only right to tell everything about Sai. He was going to be sticking around for a while.

"Who is he?"

"He's Sai's brother…he was murdered by his brother's bestfriend."

Sakura was shocked to hear that. "But, Kakashi-sensei! They look nothing alike…"

"He was his adoptive older brother. They were close because their parents were always away and they only had each other to depend on."

That was something he didn't expect from him. He was always so carefree. But was that a mask? Like that smile of his? Which is real?

She pulled on her hair. What was she doing? She should be looking for the killer! Why was she going all concerned for guy. He was just a guy. It was none of her business…

But as she though that, she couldn't help wondering if he was lonely.

On the last page, Sakura was squealed. "Hinata-chan? You drew Hinata-chan so perfectly!"

"Hinata? Hinata who?" Sai asked, still a bit distracted. "Hyuuga Hinata. The daughter of the owner of Hyuuga Industries."

"Really I never really noticed? What page is that in?"

"The last page."

Sai froze. Are you sure? I could have sworn I drew Torii-san on that page."

Sakura frowned. If this was supposed to be Uta Torii, Sakura had to say that she looked incredibly too much like Hinata. She thought that except for the hair and eye color, they could be twins. But since the portrait was done in black and white it was like looking at the live person than the dead one.

"Where's Hinata-chan, by the way." Kakashi-sensei asked. "I haven't seen her since the murder."

Sasuke shrugged. "She should be with Ongaku and that dobe. Ongaku has to prepare for the performance she'll have at the closing ceremony."

"You mean she was picked?" Sakura clasped her hands in delight. "That is so cool! We have to send her our congratulations."

But Sasuke only frowned. "She's only the replacement since the **_star_** was murdered. I don't think this is something she'd like to be congratulated of."

Sakura spirit went down. It must have been sad for Tsubasa to always come in second to that selfish person. Then again, she didn't know Torii was selfish until the contest. It just wasn't fair… Tsubasa obviously had more talent than her.

Suddenly, something caught Sakura's eye. There was something trapped between the pages of the drawing pad. "Sai, what is this?"

"Hmmm?" Sai looked up. He saw what she was pointing and shrugged. "I asked Suzuki-chan for a picture of Torii for my drawing. She gave me that. She took it at the night she was killed. I asked her for her most recent picture."

There was something wrong with that picture. Sakura just couldn't put her finger on it.

"What do you have there, Haruno?" Sasuke had suddenly appeared behind her.

She gasped and turned towards him. "Stop that! You almost gave me a heart attack," she scolded him, then turned her attention back to the picture. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary picture.

You could see Torii very clearly. It was amazing how Sai had perfectly replicated her profile. From the top of her long, flowing hair, big bright eyes and the small and… somehow…sinister smile. It was perfectly replicated. But she had no time to admire Sai's handiwork for the moment. What really got her attention is what was in the background…

She saw Naruto, Hinata and Neji together. She and Sasuke of course were there and fighting but that wasn't unusual. Tsubasa was with her band by Torii; Aya and Makoto were together by the sidelines and holding each other's hands. Something wasn't right. This was taken sometime before the official contest began.

According to autopsy, the poison took its effect a few minutes before the contest. If that was the case, how could that be when all the suspects are accounted for?

This case was getting more and more complicated by the second. What was wrong with that picture? Something wasn't right, something bothersome; something was…missing.

Sakura suddenly gasped, attracting the attention of the three males. "Guys! I want you to call Hinata-chan and the others. I think I understand what had happened!" She began to run for the door, wondering why the thought had never occurred to her before.

Sasuke moved without thinking. He grabbed her hand and turned her towards him, having her meet him eye-toeye. "Sakura, I don't understand."

She pressed the picture to his face, almost frantically. "Look at this carefully! I mean… really carefully! Tell me what is wrong with it."

Sasuke did as he was told and scanned the picture. It looked like an ordinary picture to him.

"Look beside Hinata-chan…"

This time it was Sasuke who gasped. "Then all this time…"

"Yes," Sakura replied, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "We have to get to Hinata-chan and quick!"

"We have to ask Hinata-chan, if she went to the bathroom… before the contest began."

* * *

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun? I don't understand… why are we here?" Hinata was stammering again. She had came immediately after receiving the call from Kakashi-sensei. She sat next of Naruto with a head tucked on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for bothering you again, Hinata-chan, but I think we solved the case," Sakura told her, bluntly. She really was sorry. What she was going to reveal was going to shake the very foundations of her beliefs and life. This was going to hurt this sweet girl a lot.

She didn't want to do it but she had to. They had to collect justice, they had to bring the killer down and they had to protect her.

"We believe that we know who killed Uta Torii and what had really happened." Sasuke was waving the picture in the air. His face as usual was serious and didn't give out any clues at all of how he felt.

Tsubasa sat restlessly beside Neji. Neji was keeping a hawk's eye on Hinata, since Hinata was sitting so close to Naruto. Sai who also understood the case now after discussing it with his fellow detectives, leaned against the wall beside his stoic cousin. He still had the smile on his face even after knowing the full details.

It almost made Sasuke's teeth grind, seeing that smile on his face. But he couldn't show emotion just yet. He'll beat the guy up later.

"Tell us who it is already!" Naruto shouted. "Why are you keeping us in suspense?"

"Because…this is… a sad case indeed…" Sai answered for both of them.

* * *

**Tsubame:** After all these months the case will finally be solved! Watch out for the next chapter! Who killed her? This is your last chance to guess who did it!

I'm sorry if I will update slower than usual because of school. I'm very busy. -**sigh**- I hope you guys understand and I hope you enjoy the case so far.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tsubame: **I'm sorry for updating so late but at least it is over… hehehe… read this chapter and see if your deductions were accurate. I'm so sorry for the late update. I got into a bad mood because one page of what I wrote disappeared because of a brownout. I'm really sorry. I was in a hurry to post, so no beta-editing. I still hope that it isn't too bad though. Enjoy!

**Cagalli-Yula-Athha**** and CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **You both really surprised me. _I applaud you!! _You will know why later…

**ANI-CHAN: **I really should thank you for the review. I admit that I was guilty of procrastinating. Thanks to your interesting review, I finally found the gusto to finish this Arc. I hope that you still continue to read and I'm sorry for taking too long. I have to say that writing this chapter was harder than it looked. sigh

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

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"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

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**Chapter 10: Sai**

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_**Last time…**_

"_We believe that we know who killed Uta Torii and what had really happened." Sasuke was waving the picture in the air. His face as usual was serious and didn't give out any clues at all of how he felt. _

_Tsubasa sat restlessly beside Neji. Neji was keeping a hawk's eye on Hinata, since Hinata was sitting so close to Naruto. Sai who also understood the case now after discussing it with his fellow detectives, leaned against the wall beside his stoic cousin. He still had the smile on his face even after knowing the full details._

_It almost made Sasuke's teeth grind, seeing that smile on his face. But he couldn't show emotion just yet. He'll beat the guy up later._

"_Tell us who it is already!" Naruto shouted. "Why are you keeping us in suspense?" _

"_Because…this is… a sad case indeed…" Sai answered for both of them. _

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Everything about Sai was a mystery to the student body. Other than the fact that he was Sasuke's cousin, they knew nothing much about him. He breezed through his classes like nothing. He obviously inherited the Uchiha brains, since he was a straight A student. It was also a well known fact that Sai and Sasuke could never get along. 

They had always competed in everything. Academics, good-looks and girls… especially girls.

While Sasuke attracted the female species to him with his taciturnity and brooding good looks, Sai was the perfect Prince Charming. He smiled a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts and could send women swooning by just kissing the back of their hands.

Perfect manners…calculated gestures… hidden feelings… Sai was Sai. Nobody could understand him.

Sai watched Haruno Sakura with an amused glint in his eye. He had been watching her for a while, he couldn't help but wonder why this pink-haired beauty caught the attention of two Uchihas. He was curious. It wasn't unusual anyway for Uchihas to steal each other's targets.

It wasn't a matter of who saw her first but who gets her in the end. Sai planned to be that person because…Haruno Sakura was beginning to be more than he'd hoped possible. She would never bore him and that made him more interested.

He noticed his cousin, Sasuke, looking at him. He was obviously suspicious of him. He always was. They had already cracked the case and in all honesty, the truth amused him. It was utterly unbelievable if thought about it. Such a person could commit such a heinous crime?

He took out his pen drawing pad and with a grin, waited for the reactions the people in the room will have after hearing the truth. It was going to be an interesting scene to put into paper. He opened first to the page where he had drawn a beautiful portrait of Haruno Sakura. She was staring up to the sky with a look that seemed to be looking for answers in a background of cherry blossoms to befit her name.

"Truly interesting, this Haruno Sakura," he thought.

"All right, Haruno. Everyone is here," Tsunade-sensei said. "Tell us who did it now."

But Sakura was not in a hurry. She held the proof in her hands. And it frustrated her more than Sasuke did. She wished that she didn't have to do this but there was no turning back now… because all had to know the truth. "I thank you for coming here." She threw her partner a frantic look.

Sasuke replied with a look that said, "Do you want me to do it?"

Sakura understood the look, she hesitated before shaking her head. She mouthed him a, "I can handle it." She took a deep breath, but then turned back to the waiting people in front of her.

Ongaku Tsubasa of Sora High. She had a very strong motive to kill Torii. There was a possibility of vengeance and betrayal. They were bestfriends in their childhood but Torii had broken her trust when she stole her song and proclaimed it her own at the competition. There was also a possibility that she just wanted to get rid of a rival.

Suzuki Aya of Cloud High. Torii's manager and current bestfriend. Torii had been threatening to fire her as her manager. Also, Torii had been controlling her life since they met. From hair to clothes to looks, Torii had her hide the beauty she had under the drab clothes.

Hanabishi Makoto of Cloud High, Torii's ex-boyfriend. He had a history of violent behaviors and jealousy. It was a known fact that he couldn't handle his ex-girlfriend's infidelities. He was also in love with Suzuki Aya, Torii's manager, whom she had abused since they met. He was also a master in Chemistry… a perfect background for poisoning.

These were the prime suspects of the murder but they were not the only ones in the room. Tsunade-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Hinata, Yukino and Neji were there. One thing they were certain about was that… the murderer was in the room.

Sakura was nervous and Sai could practically smell it. It only made him more intrigued.

"Before I reveal who the true crook is, let me explain how the person did it." Sakura was trying her best to sound calm. She knew though that it wasn't working. This was her first time to work on a murder case. It wasn't something that she would just jump into either. "There were five hints."

She took out the evidence bag with the microphone. "The first hint was this. There were no traces of poison on the contestants before Torii's turn. It means that the poison was on her. Further evidence is when I checked Tsubasa-chan for it. It was positive."

"But it could also mean that she planted the poison!" Naruto pointed out. Hinata nudged him hard on the hip. Naruto blushed, realizing what he had said. "I'm sorry…"

Tsubasa smiled, sadly. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. You have a very good point." She squeezed Hinata's hand, who sat across from her in the small room. "I don't have an alibi to prove my innocence."

Sasuke had been quiet in the whole exchange finally spoke. "Actually, you are quite innocent, Ongaku." She nodded towards Sakura. "Sakura will explain everything."

"Thank you, Uchiha-san." Sakura took out an evidence bag with the poison-covered brush in it. "This brush doesn't belong to the victim. We are sure of that. Torii-san's brush was found in her purse in her dressing room and it was an expensive one. It was a known fact that Torii didn't buy anything not labeled."

"What does that prove?" Tsubasa asked.

"It proved that whoever killed Torii is the owner of this brush." Sakura placed the bag on the table and faced her audience. "I guess it was natural for me to suspect the three of you. You all had the motives, you all had the ability, but there was one thing that you all didn't have. It was the time."

She turned towards the ex-boyfriend. "Makoto, has anyone ever told you that you look exactly like Naruto?" She frowned. "Torii had a certain witness for blonde and blue-eyed guys. If you noticed, ninety percent of her boyfriends have these characteristics."

Makoto was shocked. He looked at the equally shocked Naruto a few feet away. "What--- does that have to do with anything?"

"Surprisingly, a lot," Sasuke answered for his partner. He leaned his head back and bumped his head lightly on the wall. "We took into account everything about the victim, from the people she hung out with to the brand of underwear she wore." He suddenly felt something hit his head hard, making him cry out in pain. It was Sakura and it was her way of saying, "Shut up, pervert."

Sakura coughed, bringing the attention of the audience back to herself. "Uta Torii's character has to be clear to all of you now, right? She is a very vain girl and can't stand anyone being better than her in either the looks or talent department." She looked over to Tsubasa. "Obviously, Tsubasa-chan was better than her in both singing and dancing. To get rid of the competition, she befriends them and somehow convinces them that they can only be number 2."

Tsubasa looked away from Sakura's knowing eyes. Clenching her fists, she was almost going to yell out but then a gentle hand patted her on the shoulder. She already knew it was Hinata.

"It will be fine. They will find the truth." It was Hinata's voice. It somehow calmed her.

"It was the same for Suzuki-chan too," The female detective continued. She took out a picture of Aya before she was in Elementary school and another picture of her before Torii's death. "Who would think that the elementary school girl here and the girl that worked for Torii Uta was the same person?"

Aya blushed and held Makoto's hand tighter. Makoto smiled brought his arms around her shoulders, reassuringly. He whispered words of comfort to her, calming her down. Aya was obviously still a bit shaken from losing someone so close to her. But why? Torii had abused her. Was her shaking really from shock? Or was it just guilt?

"As you can see, the real Aya is a real beauty. Torii had seen her beauty as a competition," Sakura stared at Aya's face. "She got rid of that competition in the only way she knew how. So, she used the same tactic on Aya-chan too."

Aya never said anything but just held on to Makoto's hand tighter. Makoto smiled and whispered that everything was going to be fine. She nodded but showed know signs of calming down. Sakura observed the girl's every move and expression. It was not easy to determine the how the girl was feeling.

It looked like she was either suffering from extreme shock from the death of her friend or was suffering from severe guilt. She was shaking so much, her eyes bore deep sadness and her lovely face was so pale. Makoto held her and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her head.

Sasuke smirked at the scene and despite Sakura's frown continued to speak exactly what he wanted to say. "Well, well… for someone who just lost his ex-girlfriend, you sure recover fast, Hanabishi." Makoto frowned, not liking what Sasuke was implying.

"What are you trying to say, Uchiha?" He growled. "I didn't kill her."

"I didn't say you did," he folded his arms in front of him and shrugged. "I won't beat around the bush. You have the biggest reason to kill her. It is nothing really. Jealous ex-boyfriends are nothing new. According to sources, you're also an excellent chemist. Mixing poison should be easy for you."

It was Makoto's turn to shake but said nothing, instead he buried his face in Aya's hair.

"But I'm no idiot." Sasuke took out a large brown envelope and tossed it to the table in front of him. It was a bit bulky and it was labeled in Torii's name. "I think you'll be interested in what is in there. We found it in her locker."

Makoto hesitated before taking it. "What is in here?"

Sasuke was silent at first but then finally said, "It is Torii's diary."

Makoto froze, not knowing what to do. He had always believed that he knew exactly what Torii had though of him. He had only been a decoration to her. Someone she could put on a mantle. When they were together, she was always fooling around with other guys.

"She really liked you," Sai spoke up, not taking his eyes off his drawing pad. "Sakura-chan, would you mind turning your head a little? Yes, like that. Thank you."

"She… what?" Makoto finally made up his mind to read it.

"_This was the only way to get his eyes off her.." _

Those were the first words of the diary. Makoto couldn't peel his eyes away from his reading after that. It seemed like Torii wrote on her diary on a daily basis. She had written a lot about Aya and Makoto. She said that she really fell love at first sight with Makoto but he was always looking behind her. He was always looking at Aya.

"_What does she have that I don't? I don't have a choice! The only time he ever looks at me is when I'm fooling around."_

Makoto blushed. Was this the reason she fooled around so much?

It turned out that it didn't seem fair for her that he looked at Aya so much when she was so in love with him. She knew even then that the reason he even asked her to be his girlfriend was to get closer to Aya. It frustrated her that despite Aya's very "uncool" appearance, he could still be attracted to her. She was very scared if he saw how she really looked like, he'd leave her.

"_I can't let that happen! I hate her! I can't let her take him away from me!"_

Aya cried when she read that. She never knew that Torii had felt that way about her. She had never said anything. She had asked Torii before why she fooled around but she only shrugged and said that she was too popular to stick with one guy. Aya glanced towards Makoto but he was still busy reading the diary.

"_I love him. I really do…It is so cute the way he gets so jealous."_

The blonde ex-boyfriend blushed but continued to read on. In the later entries, Torii began to mention Tsubasa.

"_I saw Tsu-chan today. It was so nostalgic. I never thought I'd see her again."_

By this time, Tsubasa also joined them in reading the diary. Tsubasa cried giant tears after just reading that one line. "She called me, Tsu-chan. She hadn't called me that since elementary school."

"_We went to our favorite karaoke place when we were children. Tsu-chan is even better than before…at singing I mean." _

"She hadn't called me Tsu-chan when we met that day," Tsubasa said without looking up. "She called me Tsubasa, so I thought she forgot already." She burst into tears. "I'm… I'm so glad that she didn't."

The entry continued to describe Tsubasa and what had happened that day. She also mentioned her insecurities. She kept saying that Tsubasa was getting better than her and it amazed her that she could even write her own lyrics. She also said that it made her nervous when Tsubasa mentioned that she was joining.

"_I am going to lose! I can't lose! I finally got a recording contract but I can't get it unless I win."_

"She never told me about that recording contract," Aya whispered, turning to Makoto. "She never told me anything."

"That idiot!" Tsubasa cried out, pounding both hands on the table. She wanted nothing more than to pound something. She had always thought of Torii as her bestfriend. Despite knowing that she was just using her, Torii had always protected her in a way. "If she had only just told me, I would have helped her! She should know that I'm willing to help."

"_I want Tsubasa to hate me…"_

The whole room went into a pregnant pause after that line. Torii wanted her bestfriend to hate her? But… why? It doesn't make any sense.

"_Tsubasa is too good for me. I'm already tainted… I'm a poisoned lady. I've always known that since we were little. She was so nice to me today because she doesn't know how dirty I really am. I want her to hate me… because I don't deserve her."_

"Torii, you idiot! You complete and utter idiot!" Tsubasa screamed. "I could never hate you! I could never do that!" Aya cried, burying her face in Makoto's chest. Makoto was just speechless. All three of them were obviously torn. So, there had been more to Uta Torii than what she had been showing them.

Tsubasa, who was never known to be a violent person, began to punch the walls. "You want me to hate you? Fine! I hate you, Torii! I hate you so much!" After that, it was like Tsubasa was possessed. She went on a rampage. Hinata and Naruto fought to calm her down.

"Tsubasa-chan, get a hold of yourself!" Hinata said, shaking her friend. Tsubasa had continued to wail in Hinata's arms. Hinata stroked her hair to calm her down. "It will all be alright."

Makoto who had been silent finally looked up, with a dazed look in his eyes. "Who? Who killed her then? Who?"

"Is it one of us?" Aya's muffled voice asked. Her head was still buried in Makoto's arms.

Sai, Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other. They knew it was time to reveal the truth.

Sai finally put down his drawing pad and showed them a picture. It was a picture taken at the concert. "What is missing here?"

You could almost see the question marks in their listeners' eyes. Everyone seemed to be accounted for.

"Look beside Hinata-chan," Sakura told them. "You will see Naruto and Neji. What is wrong with that picture?"

Naruto looked up suddenly. "Sakura-chan you're not saying that… I mean… you're not saying what I think you are saying."

"Right," she replied sadly. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan… but Yukino-chan killed her."

Everyone in the rooms gasped and turned towards the shaking girl behind Hinata-chan. All eyes were on her, some were accusing, some were shock and others were of utter disbelief. It didn't seem possible that Hyuuga Yukino could hurt anyone. She was silent and such a good girl too.

"Yukino-chan, you?" Hinata choked. "There must be some mistake."

Yukino looked at her desperately. "There is, Hina-chan! I didn't kill anyone. I wouldn't kill anyone…" She took Hinata's hands in hers and stared into her eyes. "You do believe me, don't you, Hina-chan?"

Hinata didn't know what to believe anymore. "Yuki-chan?"

Yukino suddenly flew into rage and began to point an accusing finger at the three detectives. "This is all your fault!"

"You thought it was Hinata-chan coming through that door, didn't you?" Sasuke said.

"Have you been missing a brush lately, Yukino-chan?" Sai was grinning. He had his drawing pad on his lap again. He was busy trying to make his masterpiece again. He was not at all bothered by the fire in the young lady's eyes. "I think we found it."

Yukino became aware at the stares around her. It was unnerving. "You have no proof! Don't accuse me of something you can't even prove." She was smiling like someone who'd lost her mind. "That's right," she thought. "They can't touch me… because they can't prove it!"

"Oh? But we can prove it." Sasuke drawled. "But we'll tell you the hints first. The first hint was the picture of Torii in Sai's notebook." Sai showed them the picture he made of Uta Torii. It was still in black and white.

"It looks like Hinata-chan!" Neji exclaimed. He couldn't believe that it was his cousin either. For him, there had to be some mistake. Why would sweet little Yukino want to kill Uta Torii?

Sakura nodded. "Without the hair color and eyes to differentiate them, they look like exact replicas, don't they?" From head to toe, it was like looking at a picture of Hinata-chan than the picture of the victim.

"Hmmm… come to think of it, I did mistake that girl for Hinata-chan the first time I met her," Naruto mumbled, remembering the scene in his head. "She really did look like Hinata-chan."

"But I doubt that you were trying to kill Uta Torii. Am I right, Yukino-chan?" Sasuke sneered, ignoring the absolute fear in the trembling girl's eyes. "No, you've been trying to kill Hinata-chan from the very beginning!"

The whole room filled with their gasps. All eyes were now on Yukino. She felt trapped and insecure. "You can't prove it! You can't prove that I killed her! You can't!" She backed away towards the door. "Why would I want to kill Hinata-chan anyway? Why would I kill my beautiful cousin?"

"After Torii's performance, you were probably expecting Hinata to follow you to the bathroom," Sakura began. "You didn't expect that Hinata would stay behind to comfort Tsubasa after seeing her song stolen and being performed by someone else."

Yukino ran for the door but Sai had already been anticipating that she'd make that move. He grabbed her arm before she could even turn the knob. "But someone did go to that bathroom, right, Yuki-chan?" Sai continued. He had on that smile again. "It was Torii wasn't it? You didn't mean to give her that brush did you?"

"No! It was… I didn't do it! I'm innocent!" She was shouting frantically.

"But it was too late." Sakura stared at her sadly. "You gave it to her thinking it was Hinata-chan. When you finally realized the mistake, you couldn't back away."

"I wouldn't! I couldn't!"

"How did it feel to kill, Yuki-chan?" Sai's smile had suddenly changed into something accusing. "It must have felt good."

"It was an accident! You can't prove it! You can't!"

"Now that we knew it was you, all we had to do was find the container where you contained the poison." Sakura raised another evidence bag. Inside was a small vial. "This was found in a garbage can near the rest room where Torii was last seen going to." She swung it in front of the girl. "It had small traces of Potassium Chloride. The poison that killed Torii. It has your prints all over it, Yukino-chan."

"Neji-kun, you can't possibly believe these lies, do you?" She asked, screaming. "These people are lying!"

But Neji didn't move. Guilt was plastered all over his cousin's face. He looked away from the sight, feeling nothing but shame at what his cousin had tried to do. "You have shamed the Hyuuga name, Yukino. How could you do this to Hinata?"

"Neji-kun!" But she was met with deaf ears. She realized then and there that Neji didn't consider her a Hyuuga anymore. Her head bent down, like she had just lost all her spirit. But then she raised her head up again. This time her eyes were murderous. "Hinata! Hinata! That is all I ever hear in this family! She always gets everything! When is it ever going to be my turn?"

Hinata burs into tears at her cousin's outburst.

"Why is it that that girl gets everything?" Yukino was on a roll. "She has the looks, the money, the popularity and the love of the whole family though she really does nothing but look pretty!" She turned towards Naruto. He was busy trying to soothe the crying girl. "Not only that! But the guy that I really like likes her! He never looked my way because she was around. I never stood a chance!"

Naruto didn't even look up from comforting Hinata. He didn't seem to notice that the whole room was now staring at him after following Yukino's gaze.

"He looks at no one else!"

Sakura actually felt sorry for her. Jealousy had played a powerful part in this case. "Yuki-chan, it still doesn't justify murder. Even if you killed Hinata-chan, what did you expect? Did you expect everything to change in your favor?"

Yukino tore her eyes away from Hinata and Naruto. It hurt her. You could clearly see it in her eyes.

"Take her away," Sasuke told the policemen waiting for his signal in the background. They nodded and proceeded to put handcuffs on her wrists.

Before they took her away though, Yukino asked to speak to Hinata one more time. Once she was in front of the girl that would have been her victim, she hugged her. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan." It hurt so much to be ignored because I couldn't be pretty and popular like you. I'm sorry."

"Yuki-chan…" The Hyuuga heiress hugged her back. "I'll get the best lawyers… I'll help you…"

"No, Hinata-chan." The other girl replied. "I want to serve my time. I killed another person and that is unforgivable. But Hina-chan, when I'm out can we try again?"

Hinata nodded and smiled sadly.

Then Yukino turned to Naruto. "It was great to have known you, Uzumaki Naruto." She kissed him on the cheek to everyone's surprise. The boy looked confused for a moment but the smiled. "You're a good person, Yuki-chan. Take care of yourself."

She nodded. "I will… take care of Hinata-chan."

"Let's go." The policemen lead her to the door.

Sai finished his picture and smiled. It was the picture of the trembling and frightened Yukino surrounded by their gazes. Guilt, fear and denial marred her face. To him it was beautiful… to him it was a masterpiece. Then he turned the page, by far it was still his favorite though.

It was Sakura-chan. A tear was rolling down her cheek with sadness and disbelief on her face that made Sai think that she was absolutely adorable. He sighed. Haruno Sakura really brought out the sadistic side of him so easily. She was just too cute.

If they hadn't found that vial on time, they would have been in a pinch. All they could rely on was that Yukinochan would break down from the guilt. It was a matter of psychology. They had studied Yukino's disposition very carefully. They just had to pray that they were right and couldn't take it. As planned, she broke down.

Sakura didn't want to do it at first but finally relented in the end, knowing that they needed the truth to come out.

He ran his finger down the page. It was interesting what this girl would do next….

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**Author:** Again, sorry for being late but I'm happy that this Arc is finished. Watch out for the next one! It is a brain-boggler. I hope you enjoy it as much as you did this one. Any questions? Just ask and I'll answer it on the next chapter. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Tsubame**: I hope you are enjoying yourself. There was a request for some SasuSaku moments… I just couldn't refuse. I was going to write it anyway... but thank you for the reminder. I keep forgetting to write this scene. LOL Hehehe…I hope you like it and yeah, a jealous Sasuke is sexy! Yeah, Sai is pretty freaky but... hehehe... let's see what you'll think later... I hope you like this new chapter xDDD

Remember to carefully study the details I give you. You never know... that might even be a clue. Anyway, good luck with this new mystery. How I love mysteries!

**Amy**: Hi, Amy! Good luck in drawing! This chappie is for you! I am sorry I can't help much. But take care!

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

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"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

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**Chapter 11: Uchiha Sasuke**

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_**Last time…**_

_Sai finished his picture and smiled. It was the picture of the trembling and frightened Yukino surrounded by their gazes. Guilt, fear and denial marred her face. To him it was beautiful… to him it was a masterpiece. Then he turned the page, by far it was still his favorite though. _

_It was Sakura-chan. A tear was rolling down her cheek with sadness and disbelief on her face that made Sai think that she was absolutely adorable. He sighed. Haruno Sakura really brought out the sadistic side of him so easily. She was just too cute._

_If they hadn't found that vial on time, they would have been in a pinch. All they could rely on was that Yukinochan would break down from the guilt. It was a matter of psychology. They had studied Yukino's disposition very carefully. They just had to pray that they were right and couldn't take it. As planned, she broke down. _

_Sakura didn't want to do it at first but finally relented in the end, knowing that they needed the truth to come out. _

_He ran his finger down the page. It was interesting what this girl would do next… _

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She did as she pleased, when she pleases. She made her own rules, when in that school it was he who made the rules. He was the King and everything always went his way… sooner or later. She tried his patience with her defiance. He thought that she was at least smart enough to realize that there was no escaping him. 

She refused to acknowledge herself as his. He could almost laugh at her naïveté. She was already his. Everyone in the school already kept their distance from her. Because by the way Uchiha Sasuke glared at any male even trying to get near her was like a billboard saying, "Back off, she's mine."

But there was one that refused to heed the warnings.

Sai felt no fear of his cousin. He knew very well… that he could fight back. He found Sasuke's frowns laughable.

How the mighty had fallen. The great Uchiha Sasuke was infatuated with a pretty, pink-haired, smart-aleck. Sai couldn't really blame him though. His interest in the young lady proved to be growing by the minute. If his cousin wasn't burning holes on his back, he'd probably just kiss her.

Naruto was clueless of what exactly had happened. "Sakura-chan, how did the poison get on the mic and Tsubasa-chan's clothes?"

"Hmmm?" Sakura looked up. "I thought it was rather obvious, Naruto-kun." She was still a bit dazed from the case. She shook her head, trying to gain back her concentration. If you noticed when Torii-san was dancing she flipped and touched her hair a lot. She touched the microphone a lot too. Tsubasa-chan….was the next to sing. She touched the microphone and you know the rest."

"What is going to happen now?" Hinata whispered, her head still buried in Naruto's arms. "Did Tsubasa lose?"

Kakashi-sensei sighed and had put down his new volume of _Icha Icha Paradise._ This wasn't the time to read about the hot love of a beautiful secretary and her boss. That will have to wait until later. "Technically, Torii-san cheated. Her teachers are going to have to be informed."

"No!" Tsubasa shouted, pounding the table hard. Even when her hand had turned numb from the pain, she didn't flinch. She stared at the teacher hard with much determination. "Don't… please don't tell them…"

"But, Tsubasa-chan…" Naruto started.

But Tsubasa had cut him off. She smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Naruto-kun. I'll give it to her as a gift." She looked away and proceeded to stare at the floor. "My last gift…"

"Tsubasa-chan…"

She had continued to shake her head. "A few hours ago… I would have given anything to get my song back. I had wanted to win that contest that badly. But now… I don't want it anymore," she pulled on her sleave nervously. "I never thought that getting it back… would mean losing my bestfriend."

A tear fell from her cheek. A single tear… a tear that everyone in the room knew that already meant so much.

Kakashi-sensei smiled faintly through his mask. "You won, Tsubasa-chan."

The girl looked up, surprised. "What?" Others had looked up shocked too.

"Despite her cheating, you still won," he continued.

"I…won?" Tsubasa pulled on her hair hard, not believing at all. "I… won?" Her knees buckled, then she fell to the floor in a faint. Tsunade-sensei was at her side in a second and began to check her pulse and breathing. She had sighed in relief after checking that her pulse and breathing was stable.

Sakura's hand quivered as she sighed with relief of the news. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling all too well… she hadn't wanted the case to end that way.

Sasuke noticed that there was definitely bothering Sakura. As naturally as he could, he wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the door. "Come on, Sakura. You have a match tomorrow. I'll take you home." He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was more bothered than she was willing to admit.

Sakura nodded and followed him. Sai got up and excused himself, then following the two of them out. This annoyed Sasuke immensely and Sai didn't mind at all. He was used to seeing his cousin's annoyed look directed at him.

In the middle of walking, Sasuke stopped and waited for Sai to pass by but instead, Sai stopped in front of them. He was smiling innocently. "It had been interesting working with you, Sakura-chan," Sai said, extending his hand to her for a handshake. "It was an interesting case."

Sakura hesitated and reached out to shake his hand. "I'm sure it was…"

But instead of a handshake, Sai pulled her towards him and kissed her on the cheek and only millimeters away from her lips. Sai grinned after pulling away. He knew that Sasuke was watching and he couldn't help but grin at the thought. Sakura's blushing, embarrassed face wasn't bad for a bonus either. It was so cute that he made a mental note to himself to sketch it later.

"I'll see you later, Sakura-chan. Come visit me sometime… or better yet, let's go on a date," he chuckled and tried reaching out to touch her cheek. Sasuke saw this and slapped the hand away, drawing Sakura closer to him. Sai gave an amused look and shrugged. "I better get going before your boyfriend decides to kill me."

Sakura's eyes bulged open as Sai began to walk away. Before turning a corner though, Sai asked, "Sakura-chan, you don't happen to be free on Saturday, do you?"

"Would you just get lost already?" Sasuke growled before Sakura could even utter another word. "You know what that kiss mean, don't you?" Sai had just laughed out loud before finally disappearing around the corner.

"You must be crazy if you think you could control that girl with a mere kiss," he replied. It echoed loudly in the empty halls.

Once he was gone, Sasuke noticed that the girl in his arms had become stiff. "Sakura?" Sakura stepped out from his arms and slapped his right across the face. Sasuke almost lost his balance but managed to keep standing, glaring at the pink-haired girl in confusion. "What did you do that for?"

"What did he mean by that?" She demanded, putting herself in a fighting pose. She was not afraid to fight him if she had to. She wanted answers. "What was he talking about? What about that kiss?"

Sasuke groaned. "I swear…everyone in school already knows it but you. You are so dense." He shrugged and began to walk towards her. "I can't really blame you for not knowing because you are new."

"Stop speaking in riddles!" She launched a kick aimed at his face, but he had dodged it flawlessly. "Would you just spill it? I can't stand being the last to know."

"How could a girl this smart be so dumb?" Sasuke thought. He was thinking to himself at the same time trying to dodge her vicious attacks. "Do you really want to know?" he asked, as Sakura made a punch aimed at his face. Sasuke caught it and grasped her wrist tightly. "It is an Uchiha custom that we kiss the girl we choose as our own…"

His opponent went limp.

"He's kidding… he's got to be, right?" Sakura thought furiously. "He can't seriously be saying that…"

"…to an Uchiha, a kiss means possession. You were mine since the day you decided to accept my challenge."

He was grinning. He was mocking her. This couldn't be real. This only happened in shoujo manga, right?

"You… you lie!" She screamed, launching another kick his way but he blocked it. Without further ado, he pushed her against the wall. He trapped her between his arms and blocking all means of retaliation. It was only then that the girl noticed that he was serious… dead serious.

"Why do you fight me?" He asked her, a blushed crept on his face. "You're the first girl I've ever been serious with and yet you fight me." He looked down, hiding his blush from her. Sakura thought that it was just adorable. "I've kissed girls before but never in public. I never thought of possessing them. I never thought of telling the world that they are mine, so… why?"

Sakura was shocked to say the least. This didn't sound like something Uchiha Sasuke would say. "Sasuke-kun?"

"You let other guys be near you, though you are mine and I can't stand it!" He gripped her shoulders, his voice was sounding more and more frantic. "Don't do that… don't let other guys touch you." He reached for her hands and raised them to his lips. "I like you," he could hear her gasp._ "I might even love you…" _but he didn't say the last part out loud.

"Sasuke, I don't know what to say," she wanted to run but she was much to frozen into place. She wouldn't have gotten far though. Sasuke wouldn't have let her go too far.

Sasuke quieted and stepped away from her. He knew she was confused. He knew he had to do it. He had to do something he never thought of doing before. "I will give you a choice then… I am willing to wait for your answer. Don't make me wait too long." He walked away to the direction of the school exit.

Sakura was paralyzed but she knew what she wanted now. She didn't understand why… but she wanted it. "Sasuke-kun!" She screamed.

Sasuke turned around to address her but before he could, she had launched herself on him sending them both toppling on the floor. "Sakura, have you lost your---" Sasuke got the shock of his life when suddenly Sakura pressed her lips on his. He didn't understand what she was trying to do but who was he to complain? He took her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders while he wrapped his around her waist, then deepening the kiss.

Both of them didn't know how long it was but it was a while before they pulled away for air.

Sasuke stared at her curiously, not understand what the kiss meant. "Why?"

She grinned and took his face in her hands. "You belong to me too now, right?"

* * *

"So, Kabuto, is Uchiha Sasuke as great as he is rumored to be?" 

In the shadows, a man with long silver hair tied in a ponytail and circular glasses spoke softly to a mini-radio. This man was Yakushi Kabuto, an Assistant teacher from Sound and had once been a student from Konoha. "Yes, Orochimaru-sensei," he replied, grinning from ear to ear. "He was better than expected... but..."

"But what, Kabuto?" The principal of Konoha's rival school hissed. The dark haired, snake eyed man, who was once a student of Konoha was one of Konoha's prodigies. He now started his own institution and determined to bring Konoha to its knees. Starting with the recruiting with its "Number One Rookie," Uchiha Sasuke. They had been watching him carefully for a long time... waiting for a chance to finally bring him to their side.

"It is a girl, sensei," the spy mumbled. "Haruno Sakura, Tsunade-sensei's little ward." From his pocket he took out a stolen picture of a smiling pink-haired girl. He grinned as he continued to stare at it. "He's in love with her, I believe. I don't think he'd go anywhere as long as she's here. Not that I could blame him..."

"In love?" came another hiss. "Are you making that up? According to my sources, he regards women as mere toys!"

Kabuto sighed. He had been keeping an eye on the rookie for almost a year and it was true. He had never taken any girl seriously... until now. He knew simply by watching the expression on his face that the girl was someone special to him. He had been observing the girl too since she became acquainted with the Uchiha. "That was true, sensei... but this girl is different. You will be able to tell by just looking at her hair."

"What do you mean?"

"She's not blonde, sensei..."

The line had became silent at first. The only sound Kabuto could hear was the crackling of the radio. He finally spoke after a few seconds later saying, "tell me more about this girl, Kabuto."

He grinned further and took out a couple of strange orange colored cards. "Don't worry... I have it all right here."

The principal chuckled. "Wonderful..." He knew that he could count on Kabuto. The guy was almost the perfect undercover spy. He had an innocent look. No one was ever suspicious of him. Who would suspect such a friendly face and happy smile It was very true that you can never judge a book by its cover. "Just in case, keep your eyes on her... she might prove to be useful in the future."

"Yes, sir," came the reply. But before he turned off his radio, he told his teacher with the most menacing chuckle. The innocence of his eyes gone. All was left was a look of a man with many evil and untold secrets, "I have a feeling... that you'll find this girl interesting too, sensei..."

"Oh?" came his surprised response. Kabuto didn't casually say things like that. "Why do you say that?"

Kabuto shrugged as he leaned back on the locker. A couple of hallways away, he knew that the Uchiha and girl were together. Most likely... kissing. He chuckled to himself again. They seemed to be enjoying themselves when he last saw them. Kabuto knew how important kissing was to the Uchihas. It was rather awkward for him to watch them...later, he noticed Sasuke's eyes looking at his direction. He had stepped back in a hurry... but he had a feeling that Uchiha Sasuke was well aware of his presence.

That was one of the reasons they wanted him. He was not a fool. The look on the kid's eyes had sent chills tingling down his spine. The kid had a seriously sinister look.

"Kabuto! Are you still there?"

"Yes, sensei..."

"You haven't told me why you said that, Kabuto? What is so interesting about this...girl..." Orochimaru was still uncertain about Kabuto's news. He had heard of Tsunade's new ward but he never thought that she'd cause these changes in his plans. This was just going to delay the inevitable... but still... how he hated waiting.

This time Kabuto really laughed. "Just a hunch, Orochimaru-sensei...just a hunch..."

* * *

The next day was a match between Sakura and Neji but it isn't their match that you should be concerned about. The highlight of the festival was the match between Sai and Sasuke. The match between the cousins was infamous throughout the city. A lot of people came from every direction just to see their match. 

"Nice to see you again, cousin," Sai greeted him with a seemingly innocent smile. "Where is Sakura-chan? I thought for sure that she'd come to see our match."

Sasuke flexed his knuckles and glared angrily. "She's kicking Neji's butt and I don't think you'd appreciate her seeing you being pummeled to the ground anyway."

Sai chuckled. "Where did all this confidence come from?" But no reply came. He teased his cousin a little further. "You finally told her what that kiss mean, didn't you? Aww… how sweet!" He sighed, sounding almost disappointed. "I should have kissed her when I had the chance."

"You, moron!" Sasuke was about to attack but Sai shook his head.

"Don't hurt me before the match starts," he warned. "You'll get disqualified. I don't want to win that way."

"Tch.." The #1 rookie knew he was right. He'll beat him up as soon as the referee blows that whistle. He vowed that he'd give him a beating he'll never forget. He knew that somewhere in the crowd, his brother was watching him. Itachi always watched him and measured him. It annoyed him immensely.

Sai followed his gaze and he smiled seeing their older cousin watching their match. "Itachi-niichan? What is he doing here? Did he come to see his little brother? How sweet!"

"Shut up, Sai! Take this seriously. I will only fight you properly if you do the same," Sasuke warned him, putting himself in a fighting stance. "I won't go easy on you just because you are weak."

Sai feigned innocence. "You wound me, Sasuke-kun. I always fight in our duels properly." He followed hi cousin and placed himself in a fighting stance too. "But don't make a mistake thinking that I am the same as before. I am much stronger than ever before… and I won't disappoint you. I will give you a fight that you'll truly enjoy…"

The rookie Uchiha glared at him angrily, not understanding what he was saying. With Sai, he never understood his motives or thinking. He was simply too unreadable. A lot of people in their family feared Sai. It was his smile… it was a smile that felt nothing. It was the smile of an unfeeling and intelligent detective.

The umpire stepped up to the mat and shivered at the cold atmosphere. He looked in fear at the murderous look in Uchiha Sasuke's face and the calm yet equally intimidating smile of his opponent, Sai. The umpire gulped, wishing that he was anywhere at that moment but there. These two were out for blood… and didn't like the thought of his blood being spilled at the mat…

"Aren't you going to use protective gear at least?" The umpire noticed that neither of them wore any protective gear on them.

"No, I'm good." Sasuke tied a blue cloth on his arm to distinguish his color.

"Me too." Sai's color was red and he tied the cloth around his arm too.

The umpire gave the competitors a nervous look but knew better than to argue. "Fighters, ready?" He asked, hesitantly. He gulped again and with a swing of his hand, he started the match.

Sasuke made an impressive kick that barely missed the umpire but Sai was able to dodge it with no problem. The umpire already retreated to the sidelines by this time.

"You're quick, Sasuke-kun," Sai praised him. "As I had expected from the #1 rookie."

"Shut up and fight me, moron," he growled. Sai stepped back and made a kick aimed for his face but he had ducked effortlessly. TO those who were watching, the two of them looked like they were dancing. To the two people on the mat though, it was a fight for pride.

"You've improved a lot since our last battle," Sasuke admitted. They battled every once in a while for fun in the past. "If I remember correctly, I broke your jaw."

Sai had just smiled and then laughed. "Yes, a few ribs too but I think I broke your arm and a leg too."

None of them ever came out unscathed in their normal battles. This battle didn't look like it was going to be any different from usual. The rivalry between the two of them was always intense and almost as famous as the rivalry beween Sasuke and Naruto.

"How do you really feel about Sakura, Sai?" he asked while executing a perfect round-house kick and missing his target by an inch. "You can't possibly be in love with her, are you?" Sai punched him, aiming for his stomach but was blocked. "Too slow…" Sasuke grinned and punched him squarely on the stomach.

Sai fell back but recovered quickly, ignoring the pain he left in his middle. He returned to his fighting stance and his smile was still unwavered. "That was good, Sasuke-kun! But…" He slid to the floor and swept him of his feet making him fall on his butt. "Not good enough."

He grunted when he fell but was up immediately. There was a numbing pain in his hind legs but was determined to ignore it. Maybe it was going to be an interesting battle after all…

* * *

"What is going on? Why are there so many people?" Sakura asked Naruto as they made their way through the sea of spectators to get a better view of Sasuke's fight. "I can see people not from any school I know too!" 

Naruto shrugged, slowly passing through and every few minutes waited for Hinata to catch up. "It is a battle between Sai and Sasuke after all. I am not surprised. The rivalry between those two is well known." He stopped in his tracks all of a sudden and waited for Hinata to reach his side, then took her hand before making his way again.

Hinata's face turned as red as a tomato. _"Naruto-kun is holding my hand!" _she thought giddily.

"By the way, Sakura-chan… how was your fight with Neji? You guys finished quick," he asked. Sakura's battle was over in ten minutes.

"Hmph," she frowned. "That guy is not the National champion for nothing! He made defeating me quick." She clenched her fists angrily. I can't believe it. I've never been defeated that easily before. Even my battle with Sasuke wasn't that quick.

Naruto shrugged. "I could have told you that. I had a few sparring matches with him before and he is good." He rubbed his shoulder with his free hand, unconsciously. "He broke a few bones before… that moron. Oh, and your battle with Sasuke? I have a feeling that he was just playing with you. Neji isn't the type to beat around the bush…"

Hinata looked at him sadly. She loved her cousin dearly and she loved Naruto too. She hated seeing them fight each other so much. She had never seen them fight because the two of them never told her where and she was never invited to watch. She could only hear from those who could.

The first thing Sakura saw was Sasuke being swept off the floor by Sai. She winced at the sound of the thud when Sasuke but was impressed by his swift recovery. She noticed that Sai was wincing himself and holding his middle every once in a while. "Sasuke probably got a whack at him too," she thought. Later, she noticed the two combatants' lack of paddings.

"They are at it again," Naruto groaned and shook his head. "They are going to be so sore later. Why can't they ever understand that paddings were invented for a reason?" He said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Do they always fight like this?"

He nodded. "They think it is more fun this way." He laughed and moved a bit more to give her some space. "Those two are couple of idiots anyway. They won't listen to suggestions or advice from anyone but themselves. They're selfish…"

She looked at him, confused. "But… you're like that too…"

Naruto folded his arms and nodded again. "I know… why do you think we are such good friends and enemies?" He then turned his concentration back to the fight.

Sakura could never understand the boys in the school. They all regarded each other as rivals yet she'd never seen a group of people closer than they were. They fight for fun and later on laugh it off as if it was just part of their game. Sasuke and sai hated each other. Sakura knew that the moment she witnessed their attitude towards each other but she could tell that Sasuke respected him as his rival.

Sasuke made another hit in Sai's arm. Sai didn't even wince now but Sakura knew that a hit that powerful was sure to leave a bruise. Sai kicked only to be blocked. Sakura watched them, worriedly. Despite the block, he was going to have bruised arms later.

They watched as the battle continued. They exchanged hit after hit… five minutes passed…then ten. They were beginning to look tired but neither of them looked like they were going to quit.

"Aren't you tired yet, cousin?" Sai asked in the middle of dodging another kick from Sasuke but with much difficulty. Sasuke had hit him in his side earlier and now it was bruised. "Besides, it can't be easy dodging me now with the bruise on your leg and chest."

Sasuke grinned. "Don't make me laugh. The more difficult it is to win, the more excited I get!" He did a flying kick and hit him squarely on the face.

Sai stepped back and shook his head to clear it. "This is not good," he thought. "My vision is blurring. Another kick like that and I'm done for." He observed Sasuke's actions. His opponent was panting furiously and supporting his weight on his uninjured leg. He had to think of a strategy. "If I make a hit for his other leg, I might be able to reduce his mobility," he thought. "Here I go…"

Sasuke watched him carefully. He was already aware that he was aiming for his leg and he knew that if he was successful it was going to be impossible to fight back. He waited for Sai to launch his attack. Sai faked a punch but then made a slide then began to execute a kick for his uninjured leg.

But missed…

Sasuke had jumped fast. It was not easy because his leg was killing him. "Too slow!" he laughed and then kicked Sai on the face.

Sai fell. He fought to keep conscious but it was useless. Seconds later, he closed his eyes and passed out. Sasuke landed a few inches away. He cringed at the pain from landing on his injured one. He watched carefully before Sai lost conciousness and it wasn't until he was finally declared the winner did he allow himself to let his guard down.

Sakura jumped from the bleachers to his side. She didn't look too happy that was for sure. "Sasuke, you idiot! I bet you can't even walk!"

"I can walk!" he argued. Rebelliously, he tried getting up but the pain was just too much now.

"You idiot! Your leg is swelling!" She snatched a first aid kit from one of the first aid teams and began to bandage his leg. "The rest of you, take Sai to the infirmary. He needs medical attention too." Without missing a beat, they began moving to take the sleeping Sai to the infirmary.

"But, Miss Sakura, all the nurses are busy. Who will attend to him?" One girl asked.

"Tell Tsunade-sensei and tell her that Sakura sent you. She'll take care of the rest." She returned to bandaging Sasuke.

"Hey, everybody! Shikamaru is fighting Temari from Sand!" someone announced excitedly. The audience and spectators went running in a second, leaving the two of them alone.

Later, Sakura discovered that Sasuke wasn't only injured on his leg. He was bruised in other places too.

Like his chest… Sai had puched him there.

His right hip… Sai had kicked him when he was trying to evade getting hit on the leg again.

His cheek… Sai had been aiming for his nose.

His arm… Sai had tried to break it but ended up only spraining it.

His left wrist…

"What genius goes around fighting with NO paddings?!" she screamed, seeing all the damage. She was now bandaging his arm. "AH! I can't believe that you're making me your personal nurse."

He had just snorted and shrugged. "Paddings would just get in the way. It is much more exhilarating without it."

It was by this time that Naruto and Hinata caught up.

"Sasuke, congratulations!" Naruto said, slapping him in the back. "You won! That was an awesome fight! You won points for team."

Sasuke burst out laughing. "Wasn't it? That was a pretty close one. I can't wait for the next fight."

"Why don't we have a mock battle next week?" Naruto proposed. "After you've recovered of course, I want to beat you in a fair fight."

"That sounds good…"

"Are you listening to yourselves, you idiots? How could you just act like it was nothing?" Sakura screamed, then whacked both boys on the head. She turned to her boyfriend with eyes brimming in tears. "I thought you were going to die!" She bent down and began to beat his chest. "I was so worried!"

He felt twinge of guilt in his chest, as her brought the crying girl into his arms. He kissed her brows softly as if to drive the wrinkles away and said, "I'm sorry…"

It would have been a romantic moment if Naruto didn't choose that time to lift Sasuke on his shoulder. "No point in dilly-dallying here," the blonde grinned, your mom will kill me if I don't take you to a doctor immediately."

"Put me down, you moron!" turning red with embarrassment, humiliated by the fact that he was being lifted on his bestfriend's shoulder in front of his girlfriend. He felt like a sack of flour.

But Naruto just rolled his eyes. "Sure you can. With that leg, you can't do much of anything for a while, genius."

Sakura giggled as she watched Sasuke struggle. He looked adorable embarrassed like that. He had her worried all the while. She wanted to kill him when she saw what he had done to himself. She tried blocking out the memory of the bruises by turning her attention to Hinata.

"Hello, Hinata-chan," she smiled. "How are you?"

Hinata smiled back and said, "I'm fine. I am glad that that it is finally over."

Sakura took her hands and patted them gently, as if to give her comfort. "How is Tsubasa-chan?"

Hinata forced herself to keep her smile and keep face. "She is fine now. She was able to finish the concert without breaking down. I can understand that it was pretty difficult for her to lose her bestfriend that way. Somehow… I feel responsible. She was mistaken for me…"

"Don't say that!" Sakura screamed at her, clutching on her shoulders. "Then you would have died! And how will that solve anything?" She had screamed it so angrily that it scared the poor girl. She breathed out and finally calmed down and loosened her grip. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I can't stand the thought of you… dying…"

"Sakura-chan…"

But they were suddenly interrupted by Naruto. "Oi!! Hinata-chan! Sakura-chan! Hurry up! Aren't you coming?" He was waving his free arm at them. He was attracting attention to himself and Sasuke, who was slung over his shoulder. Sasuke punched his friend on the face.

"You idiot!" He was blushing furiously, embarrassed of the spectacle his bestfriend was causing.

Hinata chuckled and waved back, and replied to them that they'll catch up. When the two boys finally left, still bickering, Hinata turned to her other friend. "Aren't you going to follow them, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked, shyly.

She smiled at her then bent down and began keeping the mateials of the first aid kit. "In a minute, I'll just clean this up."

Hinata nodded and ran to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura sighed as she returned the extra bandages. When she was done, she picked it up and walked towards the direction of the infirmary. She looked up to admire the beautiful cloudy sky then noticed something strange in a dark classroom on the third floor.

Sakura knew that that classroom was being used by the Art Club but they were currently busy in their Art Exhibit on the opposite side of the school. She saw a girl staring intensely at a canvas perched on an easel. She couldn't really see her face but she had mousy brown hair that was styled in a bob. She raised a hand Sakura saw that she was holding a brush…and a paint pallet with the other hand.

Sakura watched her paint for a while and admired the way she held the brush like a professional. She worked fast. She'd seen painting exhibitions before but no artist she'd ever seen did their strokes as fast. She was so sure of every techinique. There was no hesitation as she switched from one color to another.

Sakura had been confused at first. Shouldn't that classroom be empty? All the members' attendance was required. That girl would be marked absent if she gets caught missing the exhibit. But the more she observed the girl, the more Sakura noticed that something was not right about her.

All the classrooms are supposed to be locked…

For the festival, the classrooms were always kept locked to prevent vandalism and thieving. They had happened in previous festivals, so the people in charge of the security had been extra strict.

And no one had the keys except for the principal, Kakashi-sensei and the janitor. Kakashi-sensei was at the match, she was pretty sure of that and the janitor wouldn't just give the keys without a very good reason.

The pink-haired detective shook her head, laughed and scolded herself for thinking too much. She assured herself that the girl had probably borrowed the keys from either of those two people for access. There was no reason to think that the girl was trespassing. She was even wearing their uniform, so she was surely from their school.

Having assured herself, Sakura was about to head for the infirmary but then the unexpected happened. The girl dropped the brush and moved away from the painting. She continued to stare at it for a few seconds, as if to assess it.

What happened next sent chills down Sakura's spine... As if by magic, the girl went through the wall in the back of the classroom.

And Sakura was pretty sure…

… that it was made out of solid stone…

* * *

**Tsubame:** Wahahaha!! A horror mystery! Can you solve this one? I am planning to make this even harder than the last. Good luck with this next arc, everyone. This is going to be a brain teaser! Sai is gone for a while but he'll be back! Don't worry… hehehe… xDDD Somehow... I think I wrote Kabuto freakier than Sai... or is it just me? 

**Note: **Is the name Orochimaru-sensei too long?? Or should I stick to Orochimaru-sama? Oh! And my computer has a virus! So, no updates for a while... WAHH!!! bad computer!


	12. Chapter 12

**Tsubame:**Finally! An update!Apparently, my vocabulary does not include the word, "deadline." I always miss those. Am I really going to make a good writer? ;; I am really sorry for the late chapter. I got lazy but now I am trying to write again. YAY! My muses are so slow. I wish they'd work faster.

I hope you will like this new chapter. I have been procrastinating too much. I really worked hard on it. Tell me what you think and see if you can solve this one. I'll be looking forward to hearing what you think. LOL

Thank you so much for tolerating the slowness of this frustrated writer. Thank you, everyone.

* * *

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

* * *

"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Haruno Sakura**

* * *

Everything would have been perfect. They say that she had the ability to make anything beautiful. It was like magic! It was the curse of her hands. 

**Shimizu Ito** was known throughout Konoha High as an unrivaled "Art Prodigy." She had been a member of the art club since childhood and won many awards for her art. She excelled in all fields of art, such as sculpting, painting, music, sketching and many more.

She could create one beautiful piece after another without much effort. It had boosted the school's reputation three folds.

But because of this, she acquired many enemies…

Art had been her whole life and she had spent most of school life inside the art room alone. There she created many pieces, which were still displayed in the art room until today.

She had one friend though, Sozoichi Chihiro. He was very good looking and popular with his silver hair, eyes as blue as the sky and gentlemanly demeanor. He was a member of the music division in the art club. He played the flute…but very badly.

Instead of making music, he made loud screeches that reached the opposite side of the academy. The only reason he managed to get in was that he made beautiful sketches and was a good actor. Nobody understood why he decided to stick to flute playing when he really was a dunce at it.

They became friends when Chihiro begged her to be his teacher. Unfortunately, he didn't get any better. It wasn't that Ito was a bad teacher, he was just most likely cursed…but he was stubborn. His determination was touching… until he actually started playing, then people begged him to stop.

The two of them were a strange pair, since Ito paled beside Chihiro. Ito had short, mousy light brown hair and brown eyes. This didn't help Ito's predicament at all. Many of Chihiro's jealous fans bullied and tormented her for being close to him. But she never complained or told where the bruises on her body came from. Chicihiro suspected something but had no idea how severe the bullying really was. She kept insisting that it was nothing and even denied that he had anything to do with her frequent hospital visits because of the bruises.

Nobody expected the horrible accident that befell her and her parents one stormy night. Their car got sideswept into a river. The body of Ito's mother was found but Ito and her father's weren't. According to the stories that circulated around Konoha High, she now haunts the Art club classroom.

Unfinished paintings and sculptures would be left overnight and would be finished by morning, while inside a locked classroom. Only two people could possible have the keys and those people are the janitor and the principal, Kakashi-sensei. In other words, how does one enter and leave a locked room without leaving a clue?

Sometimes, guards would pass through the empty classroom at night for their usual rounds. They say that they could have sworn that they could hear someone playing the musical instruments in the classroom. One time, they investigated it with the janitor and found the classroom completely empty but the instruments… were definitely moved.

Especially the harp…

It was Ito's favorite instrument.

* * *

"_Have you heard? They say that Ito-chan appeared again."_

"_Really? This is the third time this month! This is weird. Who saw her this time?"_

"_Uchiha-san's new girlfriend…"_

Quite frankly, Sakura was more bothered by the _**Uchiha-san's new**__**girlfriend**_ label than the ghost story. It hadn't taken long for the story about her relationship with Sasuke to spread around campus like wildfire. But the story of the girl in the classroom didn't escape notice either.

It had been a week since the Sports Fest and Konoha had won first place in the inter school division. In the team battles, team seven won second place.

"You okay, Sakura. You're not still thinking about it, are you?" Sasuke was walking her to her next class, at his insistance. He was acting like he didn't hear the conversations around them, but she knew pretty well that he could. They apparently didn't understand the full meaning of being subtle. She had told him about what he saw but he didn't look at all surprised.

"_She's a popular legend in Konoha, of course I heard of her…" _

He didn't say anything more after that. He didn't seem to like talking about it either, since he always tried to change the subject whenever she brought it up. She was surprised that he even asked that question. "Yes I am," she admitted. "Are any of those rumors true?"

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

"How about the rumors that she might have been murdered?" she pressed him. "Are they true?"

"Ito had a lot of enemies, so I wouldn't be surprised. Listen, I don't want to talk about it."

"Ito? You seem to know her pretty well," pretending not to hear him. "Was she an acquaintance?"

Grumbling, he gave up. It was pointless to ask her to mind her own business. She was just too curious for her own good. "I don't like talking about her because she was a friend. I had modelled for her in one of her pieces. She called it, _The Avenger_ and won 1st place." At her surpised expression, he grinned. The wheels on her head were definitely turning. "Don't worry, it wasn't a nude piece."

She blushed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Who's worried?!" He had read her mind accurately; she hated it when he did that. "Do you believe she was murdered?"

"Why are you pushing this? It has been three years already. Nobody needs to remember," he stopped and pulled her chin to make her look at him. "I warn you, Sakura. Don't push this issue any further."

"Why?" she demanded, her eyes glaring at him. "If that girl was murdered, everybody deserves to know."

"Sakura, how do you think I feel? I spoke to her a few hours before she died." He let go of her chin and began to move forward again. "She had just come from the exibit where she had won a prize for the painting I posed for, when she had that accident."

She felt ashamed afte hearing that. "I am sorry to hear that," she whispered. "I had no idea…"

"Just let it go, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke… I just can't…"

* * *

She got into a very big argument with Sasuke after that. He wanted her to drop the whole thing but she refused, there was something about the case that made her want to investigate further. It was too wrapped with many unanswered questions; Sakura didn't believe that she died so simply. Wasn't it possible that she could have been murdered? 

After classes, she took the opportunity to sneak into the Art Club room. She had to be quick because her boyfriend was not going to like it if he found out that she had been snooping around the Art Club room. She was relieved to not find him outside her classroom like she had expected him to do. She then remembered Naruto mentioning earlier that Sasuke had clean up duty that day.

She carefully read the name plates on top of the doors, searching for the one that was labeled, "Art Club." It didn't take her long to find it. There were paintings displayed outside their door. She pushed the door open. "Excuse me, is may I speak to Sozoichi-kun?"

"Hel---" she started to say but got a little distracted by the sound of tinkling above her. She was amazed to see a beautiful rainbow colored windchime. It was made from different colored glass and the edges were rounded to prevent injury. Each piece was also molded into a particular flower. When the sun hit it, it was truly a sight to behold.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Sakura froze, her eyes snapped into attention and opened wide as she saw Sasuke already inside and speaking with a good-looking silver-haired boy. Both boys were seated comfortably in the middle of the room. Sasuke was sitting back while frowning disapprovingly at her. The other guy was smiling happily, while holding a flute. "Sasuke? What are you doing here? Don't you have clean up duty?"

He shrugged. "Do I look like the type to do clean up duty? I had Uzumaki do it for me."

"You had your friend do it for you?" she asked, disbelieving. She couldn't believe that Sasuke would be so cruel. "How could you be cold?"

"Don't worry… I paid him."

Sakura had to force herself count to ten, to keep herself from punching his pretty face. She rolled her eyes, trying to remember why she agreed to be his girlfriend. Sure he was brilliant but he could be such a jerk sometimes. It was a wonder even for her, how she actually tolerated him.

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" she asked, sarcastically. Then she finally turned to the silver haired boy, who was looking at them quite confused. She smiled nervously. "You must be Sozoichi Chihiro-kun."

He stared at her hand for a minute, then broke into a smile. Sakura blushed after seeing his smile. It was too sincere and bright. Seeing her blush, Sasuke kicked her hard on the heel and frowned. The girl yelped in pain and frowned back. Chihiro didn't seem to notice though. "Yes, I am but please call me Chihiro… and you must be Uchiha-san's girlfriend." Sakura's smile twitched at that comment but apparently, Chicihiro didn't seem to notice though. "Uchiha-san told me all about you."

Sakura groaned, afraid of what her boyfriend could have told him. She made a closer and more careful observation of Chihiro. She could understand a bit why girls are so crazy about him. He was gorgeous, but he seemed and looked pretty clueless. It was strange to see him seated beside the frowning Sasuke. Chihiro was smiling like he didn't have a worry in the world. Despite having such a pretty smile, it still looked a little sad.

Sakura smiled casually, pulling a seat beside and sitting down while making sure to keep a healthy distance away from Sasuke. She didn't want him bothering her. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Chihiro-kun. You weren't in the middle of something, were you?"

He shook his head, reassuring her. "No, I wasn't. I was just speaking with Sasuke-kun. He has the most stranges stories." Raising his teacup to his lips, he took a small sip of his tea. "This is very nostalgic. Uchiha-san hasn't visited like this since---" Suddenly, Chihiro's voice trailed off and his smile seemed to waver. "----that time. She really did love tea." There was a solemn silence after that.

"You must have really liked her…" Sakura asked thoughtlessly. She could plainly see that he cared for her.

Chihiro almost choked on his tea and turned bright red. Sasuke fought to keep himself from hitting his girlfriend. He was about to say something when Sasuke stopped him, giving him a reassuring smile he shook his head at him. "Don't worry, Uchiha-san. It is quite alright." Then he turned to the pink-haired detective and continued with his softest voice. "In a way, yes. I liked Ito-chan very much but… she was a star that I couldn't reach."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. What did he mean? All this time, she always had been hearing the opposite. It was always Ito that didn't deserve to stand beside Chihiro. Was this what Chihiro really think? It didn't look like he was lying. Chihiro simply continued to sip his tea with his signature smile on his face. Chihiro was really an oddball to her but he seemed nice.

"Did you know… that you were at first suspected of murdering her?" She asked hesitantly.

"Sakura! That is out-of-bounds!" Sasuke warned her.

Chihiro continued to smile but Sakura now knew it was a fake smile. He persisted to reassure Sasuke that it was alright. Sakura was beginning to feel guilty. It seemed like her questions was beginning to hurt him. After sighing deeply, Chihiro answered her question. "I did know. I had the motive and opportunity to do it at that time," he admitted. "That night, we had a fight and a lot of witnesses heard it. I forgot already what we fought about but I remember screaming at her that I wished she was dead… the next thing I knew she was."

Sakura was shocked by his admission to say the least. "I don't have an alibi for that night. All I can say is that I spent the rest of the night driving. I was upset and not thinking straight. Nobody could confirm it though. The only reason why I am not in jail is because of lack of evidence." Chihiro looked very calm when he said all this. "Is there anything else that you want to know, Haruno-san?"

She shook her head no. The boy was surprisingly cooperative. Was it because he knew he had nothing to hide? Or was he simply a superb actor llike his file had mentioned. Something told her that this case was not going to be easy.

"Chi-chan!" With the sound of chimes, someone suddenly wrapped herself around the unprepared boy. Long blonde hair surrounded Chihiro like a thick blanket. "You didn't tell me we were going to have visitors! I would have made some cookies."

Chihiro sighed and proceeded to push the girl off him. "Shizuka-chan, there is really no need… and please braid your hair it is going everywhere." To prove his point, he picked up a strand from his shoulder. "See?"

The pretty blonde pouted prettily but did as she was told. She began to braid her long, long hair into two braids. It gave Sakura an opportunity to observe the newcomer. She was really cute with her long blonde hair and green eyes that were very bright and bubbly just like her smile. After braiding her hair, the blonde noticed that she was being observed. Grinning, she extended a hand to her. "Shizuka Inoue," she introduced herself. "All rounder. It is nice to meet you----"

"Sakura Haruno," she accepted her motion for a handshake. She stared at the pretty girl. She recognized her a bit. It was obvious that she was the model for one of the paintings she had admired before entering the room. The painting hadn't done her justice. The girl was far prettier. "Just call me Sakura."

"Oh! I have heard of you! You're Uchiha-san's current girlfriend!"

Sakura ground her teeth at that. Was that sll people remember her as? Didn't they at all remember that she helped solved the "Torii Uta Case?" They only seem to remind her as "Sasuke Uchiha's girlfriend" and it exasperated her.

As if reading her mind, Chichiro smiled a small smile at her and said, "Uchiha-san told me all about it. Congratulations in solving the Torii Uta murder. It is really quite unfortunate. I was a bit of a fan too."

Sakura smiled back, feeling a little better for being acknowledged as a detective and not as a girlfriend. "Thank you, Chihiro. I am just glad that the truth was revealed. I was… afraid that Hinata-chan would be next if we didn't catch the culprit." However, Hyuuga Yukino was already showing signs of improvement so that fear was slowly eliminated. Now, she had another mystery to face. She wanted to know the truth about Shimizu Ito.

"It is unbelievable though. I never would have expected Miss Yukino."

That comment surprised Sakura. "You know Yukino-san?"

Smiling, Chihiro nodded. "Everyone knows the Hyuuga family and besides, Miss Yukino was an acquaintance of Ito-chan." That was new information for Sakura. She decided to take note of that info. It might come in useful later.

From the sides, Sakura saw that Shizuka didn't look very pleased. She was pouting and looking grimly at the exchange between Chihiro and Sakura. "What are you guys talking about? Don't leave me out of it!" She suddenly wrapped her arms around Sasuke and whined, "Sasuke-kun is this any way to treat your ex-girlfriend? You're so mean!"

"G—g---girl---friend?" Sakura was stuttering. She knew very well that she looked very much like a fool. Turning to Sasuke with a puzzled look, she saw that he was simply sipping his tea casually, undeterred. Maybe Sakura shouldn't be surprised. After all, Shizuka was blonde and very beautiful. People always told her that Sakura was her first un-blonde girlfriend.

He sighed, then turned to her. "We were only together for a day," he reminded her as he pried her arms away.

"But wasn't it a memorable day?" she teased, pinching his cheeks. Moving away, she made herself comfortable on a chair beside Chihiro.

Sasuke frowned but didn't say anything. He didn't really dislike Shizuka and their break-up wasn't at all bitter. Nobody knew the real reason for their break-up. They got along very well. Some people theorized that they thought that they were just not very compatible. They had only got together because people said they looked cute together after they modeled for a painting by their art teacher. Now, they were just simply friends but sometimes Sasuke did find her pretty annoying. "What brings you here, Inoue?"

"Me?" She asked, pointing at herself. "Nothing really. I just hear that Sasuke-kun was here." She ruffled his hair playfully, to his annoyance. "Ino-chan said that your girlfriend saw Ito-san's ghost. That is pretty creepy. I also hear that she is doing her own investigation now. Aren't you going to tell her about your own investigation?"

"You mean… Sasuke, you did an investigation too? Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded. "What did you find?"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would ask," he answered effortlessly, frowning at the pink-haired girl. "If you know what is good for you, you'd forget about this whole thing." It was clear to her now that Sasuke was not going to help her on this case. She knew that something was up and that he did know something. It bothered her that he wasn't sharing… but she what she wanted to know was why.

She frowned stubbornly and turned to Chihiro. "Were Sasuke-kun and Ito-san close?" she whispered, mking sure that the other two parties wouldn't hear. Shizuka was busy talking to Sasuke though, while Sasuke was busy trying to keep himself from cringing.

"Huh?" Chihiro stared at her, surprised. "Come to think of it. I believe they were." He suddenly looked away and stared at a painting by the door. His expression drastically changed from his happy-go-lucky smile. It was Shimizu Ito's "The Avenger." It gained a lot of Media attention since it was the painting she won an award for the night she died. "Sasuke posed in that painting. He didn't even hesitate. He was going out with Naruto's girlfriend that time… their relationship was rocky by that time. I believe… Sasuke harbored feelings for her but I couldn't really be very sure."

From under the table, Sakura clenched her fists on her skirt. For some reason, it made her uneasy to hear that Sasuke might have like someone else. It made her feel bad too since the person was already dead. But at least she understood a little now. Maybe it was the reason why Sasuke didn't want to investigate this case.

Sasuke was watching her carefully despite Shizuka's constant pestering, though he couldn't really hear what their conversation was about.

"Want some more tea, Sasuke? How about some crumpets?" Shizuka asked, throwing him one of her radiant smiles.

"Just tea." He raised his glass to her. She poured him another cup, not minding that he didn't even say please or thank you. It was always like that between them. She had gotten used to it.

"So, you aren't going to help her?" Shizuka's smile suddenlt turned into a frown.

For the next few seconds, Sasuke continued to sip his tea without answering. Later, he finally puts his cup down but only long enough to answer her.

"What do you think?"

* * *

"Did you like Ito-san?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise and suddenly stopped. His girlfriend obviously didn't understand subtlty. "That Sozoichi has a big mouth," he grumbled. "Did he tell you that?"

"It's not his fault. I did ask him," she defended him to Sasuke's irritation. "He was being helpful unlike you."

"Then why not date him if you like him so much?" he replied sarcastically.

Why was it that he really knew how to annoy her? "Because I love you…" she whispered, barelty audible.

"What was that, Sakura?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

* * *

After the meeting Chihiro, Sakura went immediately to the library browse through old yearbooks. One thing she noticed was that there weren't many pictures of her. She should have already expected that though. People warned her that she detested having her picture taken. She had only two photos of her. One was with her class and the other was stolen from what looked like a festival. Both pictures, she wasn't smiling. 

She looked a little frightened.

Was it from the bullying? Sakura didn't know. Peering at the photo more closely, she could see that Ito had very pretty eyes though they were very sad and looked almost like she was about to cry. They were big and expressive. She couldn't help but wonder what color they were. The yearbook was in black and white, so she couldn't tell.

Sighing, she closed the yearbook. She didn't get much information about Ito at all. She didn't have many friends and no one seems to have anything to talk about her. "Argh! This girl was a ghost even before she died." She dropped her head on the table and began to think back.

Sakura didn't believe that what she saw that time was a ghost. Then again, what if Sasuke was right and that was simply an accident. Could someone be impersonating Ito? Why would anyone want to do that? And… that disappearing act. How was it done? There were too many questions and it frustrated her even more.

"Sakura-chan! There you are!"

She recognized Naruto's voice immediately. Smiling, she gestured him to sit on the seat beside her. Naruo smiled back and sat down, then placed a small silver case on the table. "Here you go, Sakura-chan." He pushed it towards her. "I got it from your locker. Just like you said."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Accepting the case, happily. "Well, my boyfriend is not going to be much help this time. Do you want to help me gather what I can in the art room?"

"Are you serious? That sounds like fun. Sure I'll go." Naruto stood up from his seat. It was easy to see that he was excited. "But you do know that that idea is not going to make that idiot very happy."

She shrugged and snorted. "I know but since when have I ever listened to him, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto simply grinned and nodded. "You have a very good point." The blonde was still a little annoyed by his friend's smooth-talking. Sasuke had talked him into doing his cleaning duties for a month. It was a hefty sum but sometimes he felt it wasn't worth it. HSasuke didn't tell him that his chores included the account book. Naruto loathed Math.

The Art room was empty when they arrived. She was relieved that Sasuke and Chihiro had left. She didn't to have to explain what she was doing there. She went to the supply closet and took out a small container with lead for mechanical pencils. After that, she took out a small Petri dish from her kit. Naruto watched curiously as Sakura began to crush the lead with a rock paper weight on the teacher's desk. When she was finished, she took out a pair of surgical gloves and put them on.

"Remember. Don't touch anything, Naruto."

"Wow! Sakura-chan! You look so professional." Naruto told her in amazement. He never knew that Sakura knew so much about playing detective. The boy was awestruck. It was so interesting to watch Sakura work.

Sakura just grinned but continued to work. Lastly, she took out some scotchtape and an unused make-up brush. "I am going to see if I can find some prints." She walked towards the back of the classroom, where she saw the girl disappeared. "Girls don't simply vanish into thin air…"

"Unless she's dead…" Naruto mumbled.

"I heard that." The pink-haired, aspiring doctor decided to continue working. She stared in concentration and stubbornness at the wall. "I'm not ready to believe it was a ghost yet." She began touching the wall. There must be a latch or something somewhere. Later, she began dusting for prints. For fifteen minutes, Sakura worked at dusting the wall with the grounded lead.

"Did you find anything, Sakura-chan?" A bored Naruto asked.

Sakura took out a roll of scotchtape and used it to take the prints from the wall. "Seven sets of prints. I will match them later to the members later." She carefully labeled each print. Suddenly something caught her eye. "Well, well. What is this?" With a pair of tweezers, she pulled out a lock of hair on the floor and bagged it.

Naruto watched in fascination as she bagged and labeled it with other items she gathered. "Hair? Is that important?"

She shrugged, frowning almost angrily at the bag. Looking up, her hand gripped at her sides. "I'm not sure yet but I hope it is… the hair…"

The blonde assistant grew serious, seeing Sakura look like that. Whatever she was thing about must have been grave indeed. "Yeah? What about it?"

" it's silver…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Tsubame**: I am two years over my deadline. I know. I know. I have to finish this! My brother read this and now asking me to get off my lazy butt and finish this. I will. I will. :/

I am not sure if people can still remember this. I am sure that the story changed a bit because my writing style is so different from 2-3 years ago. I am not that into Naruto anymore. However, I still love mysteries. Detective Conan, Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew. For me, they never grow old. Hahaha… I hope you like this latest case!~ Have fun trying to solve it yourselves. Tell me who you think did it.~ Who knows. You might be right!

* * *

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and company…

* * *

"**Summer School"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

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* * *

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**Chapter 13: Uzumaki Naruto**

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* * *

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**Last Time:**

_"Did you find anything, Sakura-chan?" A bored Naruto asked._

_Sakura took out a roll of scotchtape and used it to take the prints from the wall. "Seven sets of prints. I will match them later to the members later." She carefully labeled each print. Suddenly something caught her eye. "Well, well. What is this?" With a pair of tweezers, she pulled out a lock of hair on the floor and bagged it._

_Naruto watched in fascination as she bagged and labeled it with other items she gathered. "Hair? Is that important?"_

_She shrugged, frowning almost angrily at the bag. Looking up, her hand gripped at her sides. "I'm not sure yet but I hope it is… the hair…"_

_The blonde assistant grew serious, seeing Sakura look like that. Whatever she was thing about must have been grave indeed. "Yeah? What about it?"_

_" it's silver…"_

* * *

Naruto wasn't a stranger to mysteries. After all, he was bestfriends with one of the biggest mysteries in Konoha. He felt bad about lying to Sakura. He wasn't just helping her out of pure coincidence. Oh, no. Life wasn't that convenient. But, Sakura wanted to believe that it was and it is a convenient excuse for Naruto. Otherwise, he and his bestfriend were going to have to survive her wrath.

"_Keep an eye on her, will you?" _

_Naruto blinked, staring in disbelief at his bestfriend. He had been on his way to see Sakura after she asked him to get a few things from her locker. After that, he had plans with Ino and Hinata. They had asked him to go with them to a friend's exhibit. Outside his classroom though after spending an hour doing Sasuke's chores, he finds said person waiting for him._

_Naruto brushed pass him, more than a little irked that he had been talked into doing his dirty work again. But, Sasuke stopped him._

_At the request, Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oi, Sasuke, you're taking this obsession with Sakura-chan too far." He was about to push him away._

"_She is trying to investigate about Shimizu."_

_At that, Naruto froze. There was worry now. _

_Sasuke knew that he had his attention now. "We can't leave her alone. It would be bad if she knows too much." _

"Oi, Sakura-chan, tell me." They were in the cafeteria, Naruto was eating as Sakura wrote down her notes. Sakura looked up, still a bit distracted. "Isn't this already a closed case? Why do you want investigate it again? I mean---- why reopen old wounds?" Naruto suddenly stopped eating and was now staring at the girl with a solemn expression.

Sakura stopped writing and was quiet for some time as well. That look on Naruto's face scared her a bit. She began to wonder if Naruto was much more involved with this case than he was telling her. Not even when Naruto gives a grin could change her mind. Was there something he wasn't telling her? "I think this girl deserve some closure. If that girl was murdered, her murderer should be caught." Leaning forward, she asked, "Were you and Miss Ito close? Why all the questions?"

Naruto chuckled, but it wasn't his usual carefree chuckles. " I can't say we are very close. If you want close, I'd say that Sasuke and Ito were close. But---," he paused. "I know her. She was a good girl. She never wanted to hurt anyone, even when people around her were hurting her." Naruto looks up at Sakura again. "Sakura, I know you mean well by doing this but you don't have to. Just stop, okay? You're only going to hurt him."

"Hi---him?" Blinking, Sakura couldn't move. What did Naruto mean? Who did he mean by him? "Sozoichi?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. Sakura-chan, you're only going to hurt Sasuke."

* * *

Naruto excused himself after that. He still had to meet Hinata. He was a bit worried if it was alright to reveal that much to Sakura. Sasuke was going to kill him, but he wanted Sakura to know a bit of what she was getting herself into. Naruto remembered Shimizu Ito. She was always had such sad eyes. Whenever he saw her, she had such frightened look in her eyes. The only times he had really seen her smile was when she was painting in the Art room. Thinking about her, Naruto had to admit that she reminded him a bit of Hinata. However, Shimizu didn't have a strong family name like the, Hyuugas.

Sozoichi, Sasuke and him had always did their best to protect her but they only made things worse. Some girls didn't think she deserved the protection of three such handsome men. Ito had always kept quiet of the horrible treatment.

Sakura smiled and waved goodbye, but there was something different about her smile. It seemed slightly hesitant now, but Naruto knew that she was also too curious to stop when she had barely just begun. Her determination was impressive but troubling. Naruto promised to meet her the next day to meet with a few of the other members of the Art club that she should keep an eye on. Also, he knew that he had to keep an eye on her as well as Sasuke said.

He reached the front of the Exhibit to find Hinata there, waiting for him. For a while, Naruto just watched her as he walked towards her. She really is cute. Clear eyes, long dark hair and carrying such a gentle demeanor. Once she saw him, her face became bright red and ran inside. At that, Naruto stared confused before going inside as well. She was outside to wait for him, wasn't she? He guessed wrong maybe. It was too bad because the thought of her waiting for him did make him feel slightly happy.

"Naruto? You're late!" Ino shouted, hitting him on the head with her purse.

The blonde rubbed the sore spot on his head, frowning at his girlfriend. "I'm here, aren't I? And it is not my fault! That Uchiha wanted me to do a favor for him!"

"It's al—right, Naruto-kun," Hinata told him, stuttering and clutching on her pretty sun dress. "We un---der---stand."

It was obvious that she was trying her best just to utter those words to him. For Naruto, it was normal Hinata-chan behavior, and he found it cute. Ino just sighed, Naruto was just too oblivious. Like everyone, she wasn't as oblivious as the two of them of their feelings to one another. Ino knew perfectly well. Which was why she wasn't so bothered by the two's display.

Naruto was her boyfriend, but their relationship was strictly friendship. Neither really felt attraction to one another. Honestly, Ino was more attracted to Sasuke but it was clear that he would never like her as she liked him.

Naruto gave a grin. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. Ino is just brutal, isn't she?"

"What did you say?!" Ino began hitting Naruto with her purse again. This time harder. "Nevermind. What took you so long anyway? Weren't you supposed to be here two hours ago?"

"Come on, lets see this friend of yours who's an amazing artist," he said, not answering her question. Ino sighed. She knew that if Naruto didn't want to answer then it was for a reason and there really was no talking him out of it after that. Despite what a lot of people believed, Naruto was really no idiot. At least not all the time.

Naruto looked around and gave a whistle. He might not be into art, but he knew talent when he saw it. It was weird tough. His paintings were strangely accurate. Too accurate…

"You're so amazing, Sai-chan!"

"Sai?" Naruto knew only one Sai and he was---

"AH! Him?!" Naruto leaped back, pointing at the figure who was currently surrounded by a number of females.

They found Sai inside and he was talking to a few girls who were congratulating him on his success and leaving pieces of paper with their phone numbers in his hands. But an Uchiha being surrounded by females wasn't really an unusual sight. When he noticed them, he smiled and excused himself from his fans.

"Miss Ino, I am glad that you could make it," he said, kissing the back of her hand. "You too, Miss Hyuuga." He also kissed the back of her hand, but when he turned to Naruto, he made a face and said, "Don't even think about it."

Sai just smiled as if saying that he didn't know what he was talking about.

Naruto turned to Ino and asked, "Why in the world did it have to be him? When did you two meet anyway?"

Ino blinked. She couldn't understand why Naruto was acting so strange. Then she remembered. The rivalry between Sai and Sasuke was legendary and she heard that Naruto wasn't too fond of him either. Naruto didn't say anything about it, but there was simply something about Sai that he couldn't really trust. He was too charming, too smart and too calculated in his movements. It was like he regarded everything like a giant chess board. He always seems to have a motive. There was some kind of king on the board.

"We met at the festival. He invited Sakura and me, but Sakura turned him down so I decided to bring you." Answering his question, she turned to Sai and apologized for Naruto's rude behavior. "I guess you both know each other?"

Naruto nodded. How could he forget? He was Sai, Sasuke's cousin. Sai nodded as well. He knew him. He was Uzumaki Naruto, his cousin's close friend and Miss Ino's current boyfriend. He only smiled at the obvious distrust in Naruto's face. Maybe he might have a little fun with his cousin's bestfriend for a while.

Ino could sense the intensity and Hinata was getting uncomfortable with it. He had seen that look on Naruto's face before and that was when he was about to fight with her cousin, Neji. So, this worried her a lot. One of them might not leave the gallery in one piece. Ino wanted out of theire and she was going to take Hinata with her. She might get hurt in the crossfire of whatever the two were going to do. "Hinata-chan! Come on, lets take a look around. We'll see you boys later!" Without wasting time, Ino grabbed Hinata's hand and they left, leaving the two boys to themselves.

After they were out of earshot, there was silence for a while. But Naruto decided to break the ice by saying, "You know I don't like you, right?"

Sai just shrugged, "I know."

"You knew, didn't you? You always knew that it was Yukino." Naruto was clearly more than upset, but with Hinata present he kept his temper in check. "You always knew that Yukino had tried to kill Hinata but you didn't say anything. Why? Why didn't you say anything?! What if something else happened and this time Hinata would have been hurt?"

Sai paused but continued to smile. He didn't seem to be too affected by what Naruto just said. "Relax. I knew she wasn't going to try again for a while. It would have been too suspicious. She wanted to wait for that case to finish. I figured she wouldn't have been stupid enough to even try. Besides----"

His grin became just a bit bigger. "Telling them right away would hardly have been fun."

"You bastard!" It took everything Naruto had just to keep himself from trying to kill Sai at the moment. Sai really was the two-faced Bastard Sasuke as always telling him.

Sai just replied with a smile.

Naruto growled, not trusting that smile at all. He really couldn't say anything to the others of what kind of person Sai really was. He wasn't sure anybody would believe him. "I hope the others hurry out and figure out your real personality, you bastard," he grumbled, then turning to where Hinata and Ino were. He smiled when he saw Hinata turn very red when she realized Naruto was looking at her.

"Oh? Hinata-chan? I don't blame you," Sai said, giving another suspicious smile. "She's very cute."

"Shut up. Don't say anything if you want to keep that head of yours," Naruto warned. With that, he walked away to catch up with the girls. He never left Hinata's side that night.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke found Naruto in deep thought on his way to school. "Oi, you're going to get hit by a car if you keep up with that lost little boy look."

Naruto looked up and sighed. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Stuff."

"Stuff, huh?" They walked in silence for a while before Sasuke finally asked, "What did Sakura say? Did she find out anything?"

"She really wants to close this case. She seems determined. I don't think you can stop her, Sasuke," he warned. "She is as stubborn as---"

"Yes. I know," he cut in. "As stubborn as _her._ But, she can't let her know too much. It can only get her killed and they will…"

"Naruto! Sasuke! Wait up!"

They looked behind them and saw someone coming towards them. It looked like a boy and he was riding on a skateboard. Both boys stopped and waited for the boy to join them. The boy was pretty small. He was much smaller than Naruto and Sasuke that was for sure. He was a boy that was much too pretty to be a boy with his big green eyes and short coffee brown hair.

"Thanks! You two are walking to school together? That is so gay. Don't you both have girlfriends for that?"

"What was that?!" Both Sasuke and Naruto looked like they were ready to pound the boy into the pavement.

The boy laughed and raced pass them, then sticking out his tongue. "See you both in class!" Laughing hysterically, he left.

Naruto and Sasuke stared at his back, exasperated. "Aki, that little---" But Naruto didn't finish what he was about to say.

Sasuke understood and nodded. "Mnm. Who would ever think that Aki is a girl?"

* * *

"Chihiro! Naruto! Sasuke!"

At their names being called, all three of them turned around to see Aki racing towards them on her skateboard again, waving her arm for their attention.

Maybe it was the baggy clothes, tomboy attitude and the fact that she prefers to wear the male version of their uniforms. It was just difficult to think of Tsujimura Aki as female. She doesn't seem to acknowledge that she was one either.

"Oi, Chihiro-kun!" Aki greeted him that afternoon, then leaping unto his back.

Chihiro looked behind him and gave a grin. "Shouldn't you be with your band for practice?"

Aki shrugged. "I don't feel like practicing yet."

Chihiro turned to Sasuke and Naruto for help, but they simply shook their heads. When it came to Aki, it was like trying to get a little puppy to behave. She was very fond of Chihiro. No surprise there because animals seem to be very fond of the guy. "What is the band going to do without their vocalist?" He asked her, ruffling her hair. "It is not good that you are giving your bandmates trouble."

"But the battle of the bands isn't going to happen for a while!" she argued.

Naruto watched them. He always noticed how Chihiro always treated females with the same degree of gentleness and kindness. But, Naruto couldn't help but feel that it was deceptively cruel. He knew that look on Aki's face. It was the same look that girls gave Sasuke, the difference was that Sasuke had always made it clear when he was interested and when he wasn't.

Naruto didn't know what Chihiro told her, but Aki hesitantly nodded and said that she would be leaving. "I'll see you later, Chihiro-kun. You too, losers!"

If it wasn't for Chihiro pulling them back, Naruto and Sasuke would have chased after her.

Sasuke sighed and gave up. "Come on, lets go to the Art Club room. She must be there already."

When they opened the door, they found Sakura talking animatedly with one of the members. Whatever they were talking about seemed to be very funny because both girls would laugh hysterically for a while before continuing their conversation. They stopped once they noticed the presence of the three boys.

Naruto gave a friendly wave. "Yo, Sakura-chan, Aoi-chan. You seem happy today."

Sakura turned bright red, while the other girl just giggled. This made the three boys a bit more curious about their conversation a minute ago.

Naruto turned his attention to the other girl. Her name is Miyagi Aoi and she was a member of the Art Club and Drama Club. She had transferred to Konoha from Sand months before. She is with the Drama Club with Chihiro and Shizuka and handled the make-up and costuming. In fact, she dressed Shizuka and Chihiro for their last play, Romeo and Juliet. She did so well that she was now in charge of the whole Make-up division.

Aoi was true to her name. She had eyes the color of the morning sky and hair as dark as the night sky. She had a lady-like smile and very pretty features. She had a smile that many people could have sworn looked a lot like Ito Shimizu.

"I think it is safe to say that conversation is over, right, Sakura-chan?" Aoi said, giggling mysteriously and making Naruto scratch his head at how weird women were.

Sasuke took the seat beside Sakura, much to her displeasure. "Can't you go sit somewhere else?"

But his only reply was a shrug before crossing his legs and giving a lazy smile to Aoi. "You're looking well, Aoi. I heard that you were just recovering from a cold."

Aoi's eyes widened and began to look slightly nervous, but after a while flashed another smile. "I am quite alright. It wasn't a lonely time. Miss Shizuka came to visit and Aki as well," she paused, thinking. "She has been missing a lot of practice lately. Will she be alright?"

Naruto gave a thumbs up and a wink. "She'll be alright! Don't worry! Believe in that monkey!"

Suddenly a shoe came flying towards Naruto's head, rendering Naruto falling to the ground with an enormous bump on his head. "Who are you calling a monkey?" Aki was in the doorway, not looking very happy. She had both hands on her hips and standing on one leg. With one shoeless foot, it is only too easy to guess where the flying shoe had come from.

"Aki? Shouldn't you be in practice?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Aoi. I just came back to get something from your bag." Aki ran inside and reached into Aoi's bag and pulling out what look like sheaf of music. Naruto noticed that Sakura was watching them throughout the exchange. He frowned, wondering what she was thinking and how to divert her attention somewhere else. Sasuke beat him to it.

"Sasuke! You pervert!" The group looked up to find, Sasuke holding Sakura's hand with a triumphant look on his face. Sakura was grinding her teeth at him. Naruto did not really see what Sasuke did, but Aoi was giggling. Chihiro wasn't any better either. He didn't even seem to be paying much attention. Chihiro was happily humming with his headphones and iPod keeping him plenty busy. When he saw Naruto looking at him with a confused look, he looked around as confused as he was.

Suddenly, Sakura noticed something else inside Aoi's bag. Aki had forgotten to close it when she got her music. "Aoi, what is that inside your bag?"

"Eh?" Aoi turned to where she was pointing and smiled. "This?" She pulled out a book from her bag and handed it to Sakura. "I got it from Miss Ito's exhibit."

The book was a compilation of Shimizu Ito's art. Her gorgeous paintings, innovative statues and lovely sketches. "Are you a big fan of---" Between the pages of the book was an old ticket. She looked at the date and the date was for the night that Ito had died. "This ticket…"

For a second, Aoi looked genuinely shocked and laughed. "Oh my… how did this get there? I must have forgotten to remove it when I bought it." She reached out and plucked it from Sakura's fingers, putting it in the pocket of her bag. "I do not want to lose it. I treasure it."

Naruto smiled, but when he turned to Sakura, he noticed that look she threw. She looked at Aoi with suspicion and Sasuke noticed it too. He turned to his friend, mouthing 'what should we do?' but Sasuke just shrugged and sighed. The best they can do is to remain silent and give the impression that they knew nothing. Sasuke knew that even that farce was not working and that Sakura knew that he did play some sort of role. He couldn't tell her. Not yet. She would never forgive him. Even Naruto took a while to accept what he had done.

Naruto frowned, he knew that Sakura would be unlikely to forgive him too for the role he played.

"What time is it, Aoi?" Sakura asked sweetly.

Aoi lifted her right hand and glanced at her watch. "It's around three minutes past four? Why do you ask?"

Sakura began fixing her things. "I need to go to the library then go see Tsunade-sensei before going home." When she finished, she turned to shake Aoi's hand. "It was nice meeting you, Aoi. I will see you tomorrow at the café then? The cake there is delicious. I promise."

"I don't mind. See you tomorrow, Miss Sakura."

She left, leaving the three boys with Aoi. Naruto just sat there, uncomfortably. He had a lot of questions and he was sweating buckets just itching to ask them. Sasuke beat him to it. "What did she want?"

Aoi sighed, expecting this. "Just a few questions about the club and if about Ito. I was careful not to saying anything. Don't worry, Sasuke. It is safe for now." She picked up a brush and began working on a painting that she had been working on before Sakura's arrival. Naruto took a peak and clapped his hands with awe.

"That is pretty good. What do you call it?"

"Rainbow," she replied proudly.

Sasuke took a peak himself and just sighed. Even though Aoi was a self-proclaimed fan of Ito Shimizu, she had no talent in painting. The painting she was working on looked like simple streaks of rainbow colors tossed here and there. It would definitely rival Chihiro's talent with music. What was Chihiro doing the whole time? He was listening to his Ipod again and playing an imaginary flute.

He did not hear anything. That was good. The fewer people who knew the better.

"If she wants to find out, I don't think you can keep her in the dark for long. She is quite intelligent," she reminds him, not looking up from her painting. "I dare say… that I might be in trouble, Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled, still looking very calm. "I will think of something."

Naruto didn't like that smile. He stands up and smiles as well to her. "I think this might be a good time to tell the others then."

Aoi gave a pretty and nodded. "Alright. See you soon I hope, Naruto."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes! Finally! An update after... a year? Two years?


End file.
